RAYEARTH KNIGHTS: ICHIGO THE INFERNO
by hypn0s
Summary: A tale, trascending the bounds of time and space, tells the tale of three knights, like the fire he will burn his enemies crossing his path, like the fire he is chaotic, this is Ichigo, this is his story...
1. Prologue: the tale

_Hello my youthful readers! it is I, Hypn0s, bringing another story of my already long saga, to those who don't know what I'm talking about, i recomend you to read my other two related stories so you can understand it, and entertain yourselves while I update this one from time to time, and to those who do know what I'm talking about then I give you the third insatltment of the Rayearth saga, Ichigo the Inferno, the tittle is kinda self-explanatory, but in any case, to those eager to know what the story is about, just have to read it to know it, and don't worry, chapter 1 will come right after the prologue, so don't worry about waiting, so let's get this show on the road people._

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**RAYEARTH KNIGHTS: ICHIGO THE INFERNO**

**PROLOGUE:**

_The legend of the Rayearth knights is one of the few legends that have survived the pass of time, and the pass of dimension to dimension._

_The legend states that when the world of Crystalia is in peril, its queen, the pillar of that world calls forth three brave knights from beyond, warriors who are each a representation of the three natural forces of Crystalia._

_The untamable wind, unpredictable by nature, impossible to tame or defeat, none can hope to stand when the wind unleashes its full wrath, like the tiger, it crouches, a prelude to its full power, and when it lunges to attack it does with the power of a thousand hurricanes._

_The calm waters, passive by nature, it flows on a steady rhythm, it never rushes, it never deviants of its path, patience is what water has in spare, but like waves it hits its enemy, slowly weakening it, until it becomes a monstrous tsunami, hitting with its full power at the tired one, no one can stand against a force that time backs up, like a mighty dragon it roars and all quakes with its roar and gaze._

_The roaring flames, never ending stream of flames and passion, all consuming inferno, a single tongue is enough to raise forests away, the very presence of fire send the most primal beings into fear, the most powerful being cower against this force of nature that knows no end and no limit in its power and like the phoenix it always rises out of its ashes._

_All three forces form a never ending cycle with the primal force of nature, earth, all in a balance like none other force, water calms the fire, fire purges earth, earth stand against the winds, winds moves the water, and so on and on._

_But before the three knights can be called, they first must master their own powers, and resolve their own dilemmas._

_With that the story of fire begins, Ichigo the Inferno, the substitute Shinigami, the Vizard, truly the chaotic and unstoppable fire knight, makes its stand…_

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_and there you have it people, chapter 1 is just around the corner, so keep reading if I picked you interest, see ya!!_


	2. 1: Burning heart

_I'm back, miss me all, I bet you did, as promised here is chapter 1 of my new saga, Ichigo the Inferno, enjoy, read and review people._

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**CHAPTER 1: BURNING HEART**

_The story of fire tells the tales of one of the most outstanding fire Rayearth knights of the court of the queen of Crystalia, the story is in fact part of a bigger story, the chronicles of wind, the tales of waters, the story of fire, the scroll of union, and most unknown to many, the runes of earth._

_The story of fire tells the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a boy of roughly fifteen years, given a gift most consider a curse, living what can be called a 'normal life' on a normal world, with an odd father and two sisters, a boy with friends, a boy who basically is hard on the outside, but soft on the inside, shy with women, but not afraid to tell what he thinks, a normal teenager on his world, a world where the life and death are heavily intertwined, and the end is just a new beginning._

_Is in this world, in that city, where he lives, the twenty fire Rayearth knight of the court of the Princess of Crystalia, Ichigo the Inferno, the Vizard, but before he could claim either title he was something else, something different._

_He was the first human to ever become a shinigami, a substitute shinigami, a living taboo, a living representation of a broken rule of the shinigami law, a low rank shinigami with massive power, but without control, a person who was responsible for many troubles in the shinigami home world._

_The boy who became something else, something different, exciting, amazing, powerful, tempered by the fires of conflict, sharpened by his resolve, strengthened by each enemy he faced, what drives him is the will to protect what he hold dear, going to any lengths to do so._

_As so two men are about to find out…_

The night was dark, cold, a premonition of something bad about or happening in that moment, the cold night on Karakura town, a town with odd occurrences happening daily, people dying by unknown causes, damages done by and invisible force, some even being able to see the spirits of those dead.

On a desolated street, with dark clouds on the sky, and a lamp post lighting the street, lay on the ground a boy, roughly fifteen years old, clad on dark robes that resemble samurai clothes, a massive sheath tied to his back, while in front of him lay what used to be a massive sword, the only distinguishing feature of such weapon was now the red handle, what use to be the tassel on the pummel of the handle, a rectangular crossguard with several stylish flames along it, and the remains of that used to be a massive blade, that and the fact he lay on a puddle of his own blood indicated he had fought a battle and had lost, horribly.

Ichigo Kurosaki lay on the floor, beaten and defeated easily, he had barely saw his enemy as his nerves blazed with pain, and he became familiar with the floor, he was doing good against the other one, the red haired one with the wicked looking sword, but the other one, the one Rukia had called 'brother' he had been the strongest of the two, and that was supported almost right away.

Now there he lay, on a puddle of his own blood, defeated, disarmed, unable to save the woman who had helped him first, a friend, a friend that was sacrificing herself to save him of more wounds, but he wanted none of that, he wanted to save her, being blamed by something that in his way of seeing it was no crime made him angry, and if he had to topple hell itself he would prevent Rukia's capture…

"_**But how?"**_

Ichigo slowly blinked, did he just heard a female voice on his head? Maybe it was the effects bleeding out to death…

"_**I assure you Ichigito…that I'm far away of being a figment of your imagination…"**_

Did the voice answered him and called him…Ichigito?

"_Is official…I went nuts"_

"_**Hardly, right now you are about to die, but I can help you…I can't help you save Rukia now…"**_ he was about to protest about her answer, _**"But I can help you in leaving an everlasting impression on those two, and rethink you are weak, I will not tolerate MY knight being called weak by a poser of nobility and a tattooed punk who go against their believes"**_

That caught Ichigo's attention, _"What do you mean?"_

"_**Can't you feel it…how the flames of their hearts seem to flicker, like being put down by hurricane winds, they don't want this, but in going against their own believes they betray themselves, they become less than trash, less than the hollows they slay…and there is only one way we can help them correct their ways" **_the female voice said, catching Ichigo's attention, _"And that is?"_

"…_**By beating them to an inch of their lives and spitting on their false believes! Now stand up! Stand and FIGHT!"**_

He didn't knew why, but he felt invigorated by her voice, by the way she snarled, it fired him up completely, almost unnaturally, he felt…powerful…yet his body felt weak…

"_**Oh damn I forgot about that asshole who inflicted those wounds my Ichigito…but don't worry…let mama Fira deal with this…I'm going to make them rethink about considering you weak, because if they consider you weak I AM considered weak…and the fire guardian won't be called weak by insects!!"**_

Like feeling his body being pulled by strings, Ichigo's mind caught up with the fact he was being raised up, his gaze focusing on the two shinigami retreating on the Japanese gate that came out of thin air thanks to the red headed guy's sword.

It was in that moment that the one who had defeated him seemed to move back against him, feeling his return to the two legs, Ichigo was wide eyed as he saw how the man moved as in slow motion, but yet his body didn't showed any reaction, it was like his mind was separated of his body, and his body had other driver.

Soon the man was in front of him, sword unsheathed and ready to behead him, but that stopped when Ichigo's body moved on his own, matching the unnatural speed of the man, even surpassing it, because the man's surprise was visible, and more when the body of Ichigo pressed his hand on the man's chest, Ichigo noted then the strange white fingerless glove on his left hand, pressing against the man's chest, a strange red skull surrounded in flames, much like the one Rukia's glove had, but made in pure red crystal was place on top of the glove.

As for the man, he seemed shocked, like shocked beyond believe, he had left Ichigo nearly dead, bleeding out, then he stands up and matches his speed, even surpasses it, which is impossible, considering who he is, and the difference of rank, training, experience and above all, class between him and the soon to be corpse.

Slowly the man saw how 'Ichigo' raised his head to face him, not knowing Ichigo at all was not in control, but something else, something that would remind him of something…no one, not even him is invincible.

"Know your place…insect" were the last words Byakuya Kuchiki would hear before his world exploited in pain, lots and lots of pain, with a soft pressure, 'Ichigo' left hand let what seemed to be a massive explosion, point-blank at Byakuya's chest, with the low guard and surprise, Byakuya had no chance of defend himself, the explosion itself was small, barely a firecracker, but to Byakuya was like someone had fired the strongest Kido spell know point-blank at him, or worse he dare believe, the captain of the Gotei 13 6th division flew away towards the gate, missing Rukia by a hair, while his lieutenant looked at the flying Byakuya enter the gate, flying away and by the looks in a lot of pain, the red haired lieutenant had little time to defend himself as he pushed the shocked Rukia trough the door, just to feel a new kind of pain explode of his left shoulder, looking at his after mentioned shoulder, Renji eyes widened when a neatly made hole was visible, the wound had no blood, because it was cauterized almost instantly, he felt like screaming, but any will to scream was punched away, along with the air on his lungs when he felt a fist being rammed to his stomach, again he experienced a new kind of pain, the kind of pain experienced only if you are Kenpachi's sparring partner or you steal his lieutenant candies.

Renji flew away trough the door, his last vision of the world of the living was the face of Ichigo Kurosaki, and the flames on his eyes that seemed to burn like the flames of hell, such stare would haunt him for a couple of nights before the 4th division captain showed him her famous 'smile' which erased any thoughts of the fire like gaze of Ichigo.

On the other side of the door, Ichigo, or rather said his body stumbled around, Ichigo saw with impotence how the gate closed upon his eyes, now in control once again and after enjoying the whoopass his body controlled by this 'Fira' proportioned to the two shinigami, Ichigo was able to do one last thing…

Scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the scream would be only heard by those who could actually see the spirits or were sensitive enough to hear such things as dogs and cats, but Karakura town did felt a sudden rise in temperature, it barely lasted a minute, but it was more than enough, because the water droplets that were falling of the sky were vaporized instantly, and so Ichigo's puddle of blood, blood pouring of his wounds and the blood that was expelled by Renji's forehead, along with his expensive looking glasses, a heavy fog fell over Karakura town of consequence of this, while Ichigo lay on the ground, finally tired, and in a lot of pain.

The last vision he had of the living world was a pair of wooden sandals too near of him, and the obscured face of a man by a odd shaped hat, that and the feeling of sudden warm and comfort on him.

"_**Don't worry Ichigito, I'm gonna help ya save your girlfriend"**_

If he had strength, Ichigo would have snapped at Fira.

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"Ugh…my head…my arm…my stomach…" Renji groaned in pain, last thing he remembered was pain, lots of pain, the fact he was nearly killed by that orange haired guy, got a hole drilled on his shoulder, scared the crap out of him…and ruined his recent pair of glasses!

"…Bastard…" he muttered, finally regaining sharpness of his sight, just to pale when he did so, because he recognized the place where he was now.

4th squad barracks/medical ward, in the care of no other but the captain of the 4th division, Retsu Unohana, regarded as the most 'normal' captain of the Gotei 13, somewhat tame and calm, mother like, which explains why she is so well liked by her division…but still doesn't explain why 11th division shinigami send to her care seem scare shitless of her, even Kenpachi, the most sadistic, blood-thirsty, warmonger, disrespectful and fearless shinigami ever was scare to a level of her, not that Renji couldn't blame him, it seems there is a universal law to watch out for those with the sweet, innocent smile and mother like aptitude to others.

"Tone Renji-san" she said in a sweet tone and with that smile, although sweet and that would make a certain blond of another world to instantly glomp at her and call her 'nee-sama' was the main reason many shinigami feared her, it was simply the prelude for a more…terrifying facet of her, one that without a doubt Mayuri would use to defeat hollows…once he finds the way to harness such power.

"…I'm sorry Unohana-taichou…but it hurts a lot…really…" Renji complained, "Is to be expected, Kuchiki-taichou presented similar symptoms of pain on his wound, I dare say that only his experience in gathering Reiryoku on his chest before the blast allowed him to lessen the damage…sadly that didn't happen to you…Abarai-san" Retsu said, her usual soft and gentle face changed slightly by a more serious one, Renji for a second swore he saw eagerness on her face, after all (unknown to him) is not every day she can treat a wound that is not neither hollow Cero made or Kidou made, or Kenpachi made.

"…that guy…I swear he got it good" Renji muttered, staring at the ceiling of the room he was in, "Do you refer to the 'shinigami' that was with Rukia-san?"She asked, "…Yeah…taichou cut his zanpakutou easily, wounded him gravely, I think he was aiming for destroying the power Rukia gave to that boy…but then something happened…" Renji said, almost worried by something.

"…he attacked you both" Retsu stated, making Renji nod slightly, "I don't know how…but he moved faster than taichou, blasted him away, I pushed Rukia inside the Senkaimon, but then…I felt that hole being made to my shoulder…then he came at me…and then I felt pain on my stomach…so much pain…I felt like Yamamoto-sotaichou had hit me with his zanpakutou…" Renji said, making Retsu raise an eyebrow.

"Regardless of that…you should rest, I was able to restore the mass on your shoulder, it will take a while but you will make full recovery…I'll discharge you in two days, so try to recover well enough" she said, slowly standing up of the chair that was placed at the side of his bed, "w-wait" Renji called, making Retsu stop and stare at him.

"What about Rukia…anything has been decided yet?" Renji asked, "…No, not yet, Kuchiki-taichou is still recovering from his wounds, tomorrow we will all gather and hear the decision of Yamamoto-so taichou regarding this affair" she informed, "…But I doubt it will be a soft punishment for her" she ended, walking away of the room, leaving Renji with his thoughts.

As for so said man, he wanted to blame the man who had put Rukia in such peril in the first place, but he simply couldn't, one because he was sure the man was dead, and second, if he somehow survived the battle (which he believes won't happen) then he will come back for Rukia, then he will have the chance to make him pay for what will happen to Rukia.

Yet he couldn't shake the thought of something bad about to happen, something big, way too big.

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"Ugh…my head…my body…my butt" Ichigo moaned in pain, after all it was not every day that he was on the edge of life and death…well he has been there many times before this one, but those barely count, in the others at least he had some fighting chance, this time…he was utterly defeated.

"**Oh Ichigito, my poor Ichigito, does your pride hurts?"**

Ichigo heard that voice again, a female voice, taunting him, it was melodious, sweet…like poison, deadly also, a false move and he is sure the owner of that voice would end the job that asshole of Rukia's brother was unable to do.

"**I assure you Ichigito, nothing you can do can anger me…I am a very patient…and hot woman"**

Did the owner of the voice just told him that she is a chick? Did she read his thoughts?

"**Mostly, but you're so easy to read, now stand and come to me my strawberry, we have lot's to talk, that is of course you want to waste time…time your girlfriend doesn't has in spades"**

Now with strength on his body, he was able to do what he was unable to do the last night, "SHE AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!!"

Snap at the mysterious voice that saved his ass.

But she had a point in there, Rukia didn't had much time, whatever the reason those two shinigami had capture her was going to end badly for her if he didn't do something to help her, after all he was part responsible for her predicament.

Opening his eyes, Ichigo surveyed the area around him with great shock.

The sky, for the lack of better words was an inverted city, buildings and skyscrapers were visible on the sky, or at least some of them, the clouds prevented to see all of it.

"**The damage the shinigami did to the powers Rukia gave you was irreversible, but they completed their purpose, awake the latent power in ya, the clouds covering that sky is such a representation of it, once fully awakened you will see clearly the sky, but for the moment is all foggy…like a morning hangover"**

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at that, he knew his shinigami powers were borrowed by Rukia by what she told him once, but the fact he had latent powers of his own was new info for him, well it saved him a lot of troubles and answered the fact why he felt so weak…as weak you can feel as you're about to die of blood lost.

Slowly standing up, Ichigo noticed that he was on some sort of ashen ground, blackened rock with ash for dirt; he noticed also that he was on what seemed to be a cave entrance…near a black mountain.

Looking further, Ichigo walked towards the ledge of the area he was, much to his shock he saw where he was…a damn black floating mountain, and how he knew, simple, the odd islands that floated around it and the fact the trees looked so small made it even clearer.

"**Don't be so shocked Ichigito, you were fighting creatures that feed on the living and dead people as a shinigami, a being that is supposed to be simply one, not an organization at all, trust me on this, a floating volcano is nothing"**

"VOLCANO!!!!" Ichigo screamed as looking upwards to the peak of the mountain, Ichigo paled when he saw the smoke coming out of the tip of the black mountain, confirming Fira's early affirmation, he was on a volcano…a damn floating volcano.

"…This can't get worse" he muttered, it was simply impossible to thing to get worse…or weirder in fact, he had been a shinigami, killed hollows, somehow gave his friends powers that were neither shinigami nor hollow like, and also found out that Uryuu was…how he could put it simply and with tact…a shinigami hater who ended as his friend and ally.

"_Well, I'm not exactly a person with tact" _Ichigo thought with some mirth, he was always blunt, blunt as a hammer being jammed to the ribs or a cactus being slammed to someone's ass he didn't knew, but something in between that was for certain.

"**Enough self-exploration Ichigito, we have to talk, and is not exactly how you, once a cute, shy and borderline nervous kid ended up as a brooding, cool acting and serious teenager with serious anger management problems"**

"I…what the…" Ichigo stammered, now wanting to know how Fira dared to say that to him, especially without knowing him.

"**I do know you Ichigito, I know all about you…you hide too much when it should be free, you should not contain so much on you, it can be bad…really bad…especially when you faced Grand Fisher…revenge is like fuel…the worse kind"**

That had an effect on Ichigo, a very profound effect, "Who are you!? Show yourself!!"

"**All in due time Ichigito, you want to see me…then enter my domain and confront that you fear the most…only then you will see me…and understand your role in the universe"**

Wanting answers of the so called Fira, Ichigo followed her advice and entered the cave, not really sure if it was one of his best ideas ever, hell he rarely has good ideas that involve his personal welfare, but he really wanted to know, he was a curious person, and maybe this 'Fira' might have clues regarding how the hell he blasted two shinigami away with ease when they nearly killed him, that and more.

Walking into the dark tunnel, Ichigo suddenly felt a blast of heat from deep the tunnel, which basically backed the fact that he was indeed on a floating volcano, and someone resided deep within the bowels of this one.

He didn't knew how much he had been walking inside the tunnel, but he bet that was nearly fifteen minutes before he crossed paths with something, or better said someone…himself.

_Why we try? _

He heard, Ichigo found himself kinda freaked, more because he was facing himself, or better said a more dark side of him, he was clad on the shinigami robes, just like Ichigo, but the face was odd, it was obscured by the shadows, while he could distinctly see the hands, which were ash white, the eyes were more…prominent on the darkness, red glowing orbs with slits, that and the sudden chill Ichigo felt on the warm cave made him narrow his eyes at the construct on the cave.

_Is because of us that Rukia is now dead…_

"She isn't!" Ichigo snapped, glaring at the doppelganger in front of him, now he really wished that the one who looked to have a stick deep in his ass didn't destroyed his sword, he was really wanting to cut down the person in front of him.

_Every person we held dear dies in front of us…_

"Don't speak in plural! You're not me!"

_Are you sure…? _

The person in front of Ichigo said in a hiss, making Ichigo nod, "Is not my fault, I fought to save Rukia, to save Yuzu and Karin…"

_Just like you fought to save mother…?_

That stopped Ichigo dead on his tracks; the person in front of him was the second thing to ever refer to his mother in the lapse of a day, but while Fira seemed to refer to his mother on a more personal level, referring to her death as the catalyze of what Ichigo is nowadays, the other one referred to her in a taunting manner, like if her death was…

_Your fault…yes…_

It hissed with malice and glee, something Ichigo noted immediately, and hated it.

_If you didn't try to save that 'girl' then mother wouldn't have died, because of that we lost mother, we made Yuzu and Karin cry, we made father bitter, and we destroyed our family…_

"No, NO!" Ichigo snapped, eyes narrowing at the person that dared to say that he had killed his own mother, that he was responsible for it, he wasn't…right?

_Don't deny it; we blame ourselves for it, we ran away when we saw what we did, we caused pain, we made many people sad, don't deny what is true, we killed her…_

Ichigo stubbornly shook his head, he didn't want to admit it, but the thing was correct, he…he was part responsible for what happened, for what happened to his mom…

_Now even we cause pain, Rukia died seeing our corpse on the street, our sisters suffer for us, our friends suffer for us, it should have been better if we have died…_

Ichigo was panting in pain, the voice was right again, he was to blame, and THEY were to blame by it, how many times Yuzu and Karin have been put in danger? How many times his own friends had been put on the line? How many times…how many times…

Images of his death mother, of his crying sisters, sad people, images that still haunted him…

_Right…concede, kneel, you lost, your despair is delicious, is satisfying my thirst…you should have died with your whore of a mother…Rayearth…_

But even in that state of depression, Ichigo was hearing all, and he didn't like a bit what the other one said about his mom (who does?)

"What did you say about Kaa-Chan?"

_I said you should have died with her, both of you are wastes of space, all of them are, your sisters, your fathers, your friends, your…wait…_

The other being on the cave realized that Ichigo had been depressed, but not anymore it seemed, his purpose was to berate people with their darkest fears, then consume their conscious to then use them as their own, but never they had answered him, all remained catatonic after facing the 'truth' his truth, he always taunted them, they never answered, but this time it was different, way too different.

"No one…no one!" Ichigo snapped, seeing how the other being took a step back after noticing something in Ichigo's left arm.

"NO ONE INSULTS KAA-SAN!!" in a blur Ichigo had dashed at the other being in the cave, and plunged his flame engulfed hand onto the chest of the other.

_AHHHHHH!!_

The being screamed in pain as the flame engulfed hand impaled him right on the heart, suddenly he was consumed in flames as well, but not even ashes remained of the thing, only the taunts that were in Ichigo's mind…

"**Forget them all, death, as life, is a natural cycle, yes the death of your mother was unfortunate, but don't blame yourself for it Ichigito, after all she died for you, for you alone, remember her, remember her sacrifice, and live" **

For once, ever since Ichigo heard her voice, Fira seemed to bring some words of comfort to him, it was odd for someone he barely knew to tell him that was weird, but it seemed that she knew him well enough, putting those thoughts about the other being aside, he focused on his left hand, just to see that it no longer was engulfed in flames, just the white glove that somehow found its way on his hand, Ichigo tried to remove the glove, but found out that it was impossible, it was like the glove was attached to his skin.

Sighing in annoyance, he decided to continue his trek towards the cave most inner place, wanting to meet Fira in person, and why he had confronted…that, whatever it was.

It would take him five more minutes to reach the end of the cave, what he found there was both breath-taking and amazing.

A massive cavern of the size of his school auditorium, the roof was completely filled with red glowing crystals of all sizes and shapes, most of them with sharp spikes in them, the ground and the walls were of black rock, the floor having some ash in it, but what caught his attention was the lavafall in one side of the room that formed also a lava like pond, several crystal like lamps had flames on the tips, furthering illuminating the place, and he could see clearly what seemed to be a chair made of both crystallized lava and red crystals, with flames on the headboard of this one.

"**So…you came, Ichigito" **Ichigo eyes widened, and his mouth hang open, but not because he saw a woman with pale skin, red fiery hair that surely made it pass beyond her waist, orange eyes that seemed to burn with passion and lips as red as blood, no, and it wasn't either because she seemed to have enough curves to cause a massive car accident, neither the perfect bust of butt, no it was for two facts, one she was naked, and two, she was bathing herself on lava, LAVA!!!

The shocking fact about a woman bathing on a lava pool seemed to be overshadowed when he finally realized of the state of nudity of so said woman, and how so said woman seemed to enjoy his stare on her.

To anyone who truly knew Ichigo (which were very few) his cool and stubborn persona was replaced by a shy and demure one automatically once he sees a woman in either indecent clothes that show too much skin or a woman with no clothes at all.

Blushing a storm, Ichigo finally did a gentleman thing an averted his eyes of her, to any other person (with a normal libido) it would have been a hard thing, but to Ichigo it was easy…

"**Oh you blush! What a cute and shy little kid you are, averting your eyes of the naked hot lady!" **but the woman seemed dead-bent on reminding him that she was as naked as the day she was born.

"**I wonder is that why Rukia liked to sleep on your closet, knowing that a cute boy that respected her as a woman would not take advantage of her, a weak, cute, one hundred and many more years old shinigami with more experience on bed than you"**

"WOULD YOU STOP IT!!!?"

"**And Orihime…those boobs are all natural, I think you have a hard choice, the natural, yet inexperienced Orihime or the experienced, yet petit Rukia…hard choice if you ask me…if I were you…I'll take them both"**

"Would you for once ever since we meet stop talking about my life if you knew me!? I hardly know you!"

"**Oh but I do know you…well enough I might add" **the woman said, Ichigo eyes widened when he felt silk like fingers wrap around his chin, and more when such delicate fingers forced him to look at their owner, Ichigo thanked the higher ones when he saw that she was dressed, although in a scandalous manner.

Knee high red leather boots were visible, a scandalous black miniskirt covered her waist, barely covering what only men see on their wedding night (what a prude) a golden breastplate covered her way developed chest (if barely) showing her toned belly, the breastplate seemed heavily decorated with rune inscriptions of all kinds etched on the metal, her left hand, her fingers were completely decorated with rings with rubies in them, while her right hand, her wrist was covered by a red crystal like bracelet, a ruby bracelet he dare say, her forehead sported a slim golden tiara that had on the top a head of a bird with red eyes, while the tiara was flanked by two golden wings, oddly enough she had a cape, nothing fancy, a cape that was made of flames, considering that she was already dressed in less than a second and she was having a bath on a lava pool, nothing else could surprise him now coming out of her.

"**My, my, just a handsome face…and always on a scowl, no wonder you only attract troublemaker girls" **the woman said, making Ichigo scowl as usual, **"But well, that scowl attracted me as well" **she added, swaying her hips as she made her way towards the 'throne' on the room, making Ichigo blush, sadly she seemed aware of this and only made her giggle, **"Such as prude…but I think is a rather cute trade of you" **she added as she finally sat on the chair, crossing her legs and motioning Ichigo to come to her.

"Who…who are you?" Ichigo asked as he eyed the woman with suspicious, **"Me? Glad you asked!" **she said as she suddenly sprang out; launching herself to Ichigo, just to stop inches to his face, a grin on her face.

"**I am an all mighty entity of another world, hollows quake in fear at the mere mention of my name, shinigami run away at the mere glance of my power! I am the almighty! All sexy! Everlasting powerful being of Crystalia! Fira!!" **she practically screamed the last part, along with her dramatic introduction that seemed to be joined by geysers of lava sprouting out of the ground and the lava pool and flames dancing around her, yet…

"Who?" Fira seemed to face vault when she heard Ichigo mention that! Hell, even the dense as a brick ninja Anima selected as his Rayearth knew of the legend of the knights.

"**Never your mother tucked you to bed with a story?" **Ichigo nodded, **"Then, by obligation she should have told you the legend of the Rayearth knights!" **

"Eh…no, doesn't ring a bell"

"**Oh come on! Any mom or dad that respects themselves has told their Childs the legend of the knights and Crystalia!!"**

"Nope, nothing yet…but I think I heard something about it by Orihime…" Fira seemed to perk up at that, "But I think it was more for the food" Fira sweat dropped.

"**This…is going to be hard" **was all Fira muttered as she looked at Ichigo with a mischievous look on her eyes, **"But no matter, we can cover that after you recover your powers, this time for good" **Fira said, crossing her arms over her generous bust.

"My shinigami powers?" Ichigo questioned, **"Duh! Is not like you have other powers…besides the one of a Rayearth" **she said, **"But nevertheless is imperative you regain them, your girlfriend's life is on the line"**

"She ain't my girlfriend! And what do you mean by that?" Ichigo asked, **"Tch, so easy, Soul society has very uptight rules Ichigito, one of them includes that no shinigami, under any circumstance must never give their powers to a human, namely you" **she said, making Ichigo go eye wide, "Excuse me? Are you saying that Rukia broke a stupid rule, we were both going to die, and so my sisters!"

"**Soul society doesn't care, all they care about is balance, and the all 'the wheel of life must turn' souls must reincarnate, yada, yada, yada, I leave the balance speech to Draconax I am more a creature of chaos, oh and hear this, the punishment for such act, like others transgressions, is death" **Ichigo eyes widened more after such notice, he thought that Rukia would be incarcerated, nothing more, noting else, maybe hurt, but executed?

"**Surprised eh?" **Ichigo nodded, **"Can't say I'm surprised either, their king has a willow tree stuck deep on his ass, nevertheless such thing can be avoided…but if you're willing to take some risks" **she said, "…What risks?" Ichigo asked.

"**Simple enough, to regain your powers, you must basically must lose your chain of fate" **she said, **"On other words, turn into a hollow" **she added, "Say what?!"

"**You hear me, you must lose the chain then pass a process that is called Hollowfication, simple enough is going to hurt like hell, but if you manage to fight the process of Hollowfication, you will be able to regain your powers with an extra spice in the mix"**

"And how pray tell I will do that?" Ichigo asked, **"Well you're stubborn by nature, so obviously you will resist the Hollowfication, that will give you the time to become a shinigami…a very special one" **Fira said with a leer, making Ichigo uncomfortable.

"And then what?" Ichigo asked.

"**I don't know! I'm not Draconax and the Rayearth of water to see the future! but I know this, don't falter, don't turn back, don't give up, because if you do…" **she said as her hand suddenly pressed on Ichigo's forehead, much to Ichigo's shock, he was suddenly engulfed in flames, but he wasn't burning, in fact he felt…welcome in the flames.

"**Injustices will be committed…and people will pay the price for that" **with that, Ichigo's vision began to grow brighter, blinding him, **"Remember this Ichigito…I will always be here…me and the old goat"**

* * *

Ichigo slowly recovered sense of his body, the first feeling he got was oddly the sense of touch, and with it came also the feeling of being in something warm, comfortable, nice, welcoming, like the flames he was once surrounded when Fira had pressed her hand on his forehead…

"_**Of course you feel comfortable in the flames, is warm, is nice, is natural, flames are your allies, the fire is your ally" **_

And by some twisted way of life, he now could hear Fira's voice on his head, _"How…long I was out?"_

"_**Well…can't say really, time in the mind runs at a different way, I dare say five hours between the uptight asshole tried to kill ya, you entering the mindscape, defeating the leech, meeting me and then sending you to your body in that order, and I even had time to drink a whole bottle of tequila in a sit, pretty much the usual thing"**_ Fira answered.

"_Five…what the hell is a leech?"_

"_**Nasty little bastard if you ask me, I don't know how it got into you, I dare say once again, it found its way when the uptight asshole stabbed ya, leeches don't need much time to start working once they get inside a living being, as for what they do is pretty much simple, they dig in, scan the deepest fears and insecurities of their host, then they wait to the host to reach a state of mental rest, napping or sleeping, then they confront them with that acquired knowledge, break the host will to fight, then they consume their minds, taking their place and leeching them of their life force, it usually it takes them a week to complete the life force drain, then jump to another host, and the process repeats again"**_

"…_I see" _Ichigo answered, not even feeling remorse for what he did, one thing was hollows, once humans souls that had the misfortune to not being guided by a shinigami to soul society and turned into inhuman monsters by grieve and their only way to escape that existence was to a shinigami to kill their hollow form, purifying them, but another one was that…leech, who had used his deepest feelings against him.

"_**The bastard got what he had coming, I mean he knew he was dealing with a Rayearth, but he had to be greedy and even taunt the Rayearth with his momma, bad move, leeches are greedy when it comes with targets with high amount of life force, and Rayearths are like all you can eat buffet to them"**_

"_Thanks for the words of comfort, but now I want answers, what is a Rayearth? Hell why me?"_

"_**Why the hell you? Simple, you got what it takes to be a knight, as for what is a Rayearth…let me see…think of the sun of this system for an example, now add that sun a mass of a million times its original mass, that's the power of a Rayearth put on perspective, on other terms think of asteroids as the power of normal hollows, then moons, the power of your average shinigami and a Gillian class menos, then are the planets, normal planets like this one are the power of lieutenant power shinigami like Rukia and other class of hollows, then we pass to the gas giants, other planets, think of them as the power of average class captain shinigami, then we have the suns, the power of the leader of the shinigami and then black holes, the power of another class of hollows, then is you…when you reach full maturity of both your Rayearth powers and shinigami powers, a star so big, so enormous, so bright, than not even a black hole could swallow that much energy without being affected, in Crystalia we have a name to those stars, black suns, the biggest star this universe has to offer"**_

"_Thanks to explaining that…but why you had to put the solar system as an example of it?"_

"_**Don't know, maybe is because Draconax mentioned that his knight has a liking to the stars, and I think is cool to explain it like that!" **_the cheerful way Fira exclaimed that didn't help to assure nothing to Ichigo.

"_You just answered what kind of power a Rayearth has, no what they truly are!!"_

"_**I did?"**_

"_YES!!!"_

"_**Okay, okay, cool your engines down Ichigito, I was just testing ya, if seeing if you are perceptive, guess you are"**_

"_Just…tell me what a Rayearth is?"_

"_**Simply put, the most powerful force ever made in this universe, not close to a god or a guardian power, but the true limit of power a mortal is allowed to wield, Rayearths are the ancient defenders of Crystalia, and therefore the defenders of the universe, because whatever happens to Crystalia affects the other worlds as a whole, this world, soul society, a world made of chocolate, it exists, if Crystalia is destroyed then the balance will be thrown away, not a nice thing if you ask me, you, and other two people of another world each were granted powers beyond mortal comprehension to fight for Crystalia sake when the land is threatened, in a way you are a one man shinigami army, stronger than any other shinigami ever born, well you are already stronger than any other shinigami know, but all that it will take time, training and beating the crap out of any fool who crosses your path"**_

"…_Well that is explanatory, now why you set me on fire?"_

"_**Oh that, just to awaken your dormant Rayearth powers, you have the basic powers and abilities a Rayearth of fire has in this stage, breathing fire and manipulating fire to an extent, using telekinetic abilities, supporting insane amounts of damage, oh did you know you can get a hole punched on your stomach and you will be still standing? Now if I could only make possible that you endure a hit in the family jewels without flinching…"**_

"_Excuse me? I can do what!?"_

"_**Breath fire, manipulate fire, Rayearth of fire, you control fire! Sheez why I didn't got the cute ninja, he has the all will of the fire thingy and looks like a cute chibi fox? Oh yeah, I lost rock paper scissors with those two cheaters"**_

"_You…never mind, now what?"_

"_**Now what? Now you wake up moron, last I checked you got stabbed to near death, not drunk to near death, so there is no excuse to go lazy, stand up and ask bucket head to train ya, if you're going to rescue your bunny loving and imp size girlfriend then you gotta recover your shinigami powers, it would a little fair for the opponent, I mean they will be facing you, a Rayearth, so they are practically screw so let's give them some advantage and fight with their same powers…but that doesn't mean you can't mix your Rayearth powers with any shinigami attack, ah I imagine it already, that stuck up asshole crying like a baby because you incinerated his hair, ah so beautiful"**_

For his part, Ichigo really wondered if he had got stuck with a guardian or with a crazy half-drunk pyromaniac living on his mind.

"_Okay, I'm all for it, but one thing"_

"_**Sure shoot hotshot"**_

"_RUKIA AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!!!"_

"_**Don't deny it Ichigito, there is love in the air, you want her, to show her how much you love her, and let's admit it, unlike other males you are not drooling for the girl with blimps attached to her chest, so you like small, spitfire girls like Rukia, why else you would try to save her?"**_

"_Dammit I'm not that kind of guy, I respect girls!!"_

"_**Right, let's work with that for now, oh on a serious note…" **_Fira began, her tone of voice changing, much to Ichigo's sudden shock, all the time he had 'spoke' with her she had this spark of mischief on her voice, but now it was all business like.

"_**You want to save her, that's cool, but don't use that as an excuse to die, there are people who would be greatly saddened if you died without a reason, just fight and survive, if you strive then you don't die, all is reduced to one single word…resolve, now wake up, I want to see the world also"**_

Not answering her deep words, Ichigo began to open his eyes, the warm on his body was still there, so there was nothing to worry about, he could feel Fira's eyes on his own, meaning she was watching as well.

As he opened his eyes, he expected his first sight to be the ceiling of his room or a hospital…

Instead he got a close-up to Tessai's face, that and the fact the man was on him, the result was expected of both Ichigo and Fira.

"GGGAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

Scream like a pair of little girls who saw the devil itself, although Tessai didn't expected what happened next.

As Ichigo screamed with all his might right at Tessai face, fire erupted of his mouth, like a dragon exhaling fire onto a helpless enemy, the stream of flames hit Tessai face point-blank, anyone looking at the scene would be horrified or very amused, after all it was Ichigo who was breathing fire on Tessai's face.

As the stream of fire stopped of Ichigo's mouth, he saw the damage, or better said the lack of it on Tessai's face, it was all blackened by the fire, like if he had been rubbing his face on coal, his glasses, his mustache, his hair all was barely burned, better yet he seemed he had washed himself with coal rather with soap.

"Tenchou, Kurosaki-dono has awaken" Tessai said with his rough voice, standing up and walking away, as he did so Ichigo sat up, not even wincing for the wounds on his body, in fact he didn't felt wounded at all, he didn't felt the wounds on his body inflicted by the other shinigami, it was odd, indeed odd, that and the fact his torso was not in bandages, usually Rukia used a spell to heal him, but without her he pretty much had to recur to normal ways, bandages and antiseptic, the fact he had none of them on him meant one thing, either he has an awesome healer, or…

"I heal fast…"

"_**Duh! Of course you do, I mean in this beginning stage of your powers, those 'deadly' stabs to you were like love taps, in time they will feel like an itch, trust me is funny to say to an enemy if they can stab you on the back to you can cure an itch there" **_Fira replied, making Ichigo to grunt in approval, _**"Oh by the way once you're alone try to summon your Rayearth weapon"**_

"_My what!?"_

"_**Your Rayearth weapon my flaming strawberry, is made like a zanpakutou, out of your soul, but instead of the one you will have as a shinigami, this one will be a fusion of your soul deepest feelings, honor, courage, lust to name a few, then forged within you, creating a cool looking, sometimes ridiculous size, but overall deadly to any moron who is cut by it, you're is called Ignus"**_

"_Ignus? Okay it doesn't work like a shinigami zanpakutou?"_

"_**No, no flashy transformation or something like that, but it has cool skills, and as long your soul and will is strong, Ignus, like any other Rayearth weapon is indestructible"**_

Nodding in approval at that prospect, Ichigo saw Urahara enter the room, looking as lazy and happy looking as you can expect of him, but there was something odd about him, something that Ichigo could not place…

Maybe it was the strange red dot around Urahara, flying like an annoying fly and that most of the times surrounded the cane he held, _"Maybe is his…zanpakutou, I mean he sells shinigami based items, he sell Rukia Kon and all that"_

"_**Duh! Of course he is, you can't feel his massive spiritual energy because you basically suck at feeling it, that and most of it you leak so much of it hampers you to feel it, but nevertheless you still can see it right, that strange aura around his cane, that red orb, you can't be deceive by illusions, now you just can sense them and bypass the most basic ones, but as time pass you will not be tricked by no one…Suck on that Anima, my Rayearth can't be fooled by illusions, your Rayearth does, BOOYAAH!!!"**_

Ichigo groaned at that, he was now convinced that women like Fira were to be avoided like the plague, making a mental note to find a way to drown the sudden whoops of joy of Fira, Ichigo focused on the shopkeeper in front of him.

The man gave the overall goofy and lazy shopkeeper of a second-hand store with a weird staff feeling, but in his crash course on 'how to be a shinigami and not getting kill while being an average student' he had learn that all is not what it seems, just look at Rukia for instance, you would never believe a girl so small and thin as her would have a right hook as mean as a sledgehammer, or that a normal soul like one of a kid can in time, turn into a vicious, ferocious and downright evil soul consuming spirit know as hollow.

Yet that happened, and so there he was, perhaps on the house of Urahara, with his wounds fully healed, thanks to whatever mumbo jumbo Fira was talking about, without shinigami powers and to boot with the face of Tessai forever burned on his mind, now he had a new reason to lock his room on his home, his dad being one of those reasons.

"My, my, you're already awake and standing, after such wounds inflicted upon you most people would have died, and if they survived, the recovery would have been painfully long" Urahara said with that tease smile he always had, his strange hat covering his eyes, but Ichigo knew that Urahara was watching him, how he didn't know, maybe the fact that the shopkeeper seemed too cheerful for his taste, that and the fact Urahara's attention was focused on Ichigo's glove, the only article of clothing Ichigo had on his upper part of the body.

"_That glove…my it seems there is always something with Ichigo here, first striking a friendship with a Quincy, having monstrous spiritual powers and even surviving a captain, true they had the limiters on but that didn't meant he was weak…but if that glove is in fact what I think then there are some turbulent times coming" _Urahara thought with some apprehension, any captain worth its zanpakutou knows of it, the only power that outmatches the power of the captain-commander in spades, the only being that is believe to be able to slay an army of Vasto Lorde without any help or effort…a Rayearth knight.

"_If he is a knight…then indeed dark times approach" _with that last thought, Urahara approached Ichigo, fanning himself and keeping the cheerful look, while he was not like that all the time, he was cheerful and eccentric, but he kept the façade of over the top cheerful and eccentric just for fun and to fool the shinigami that come to his shop to buy, most of the times most of them didn't even knew who he truly was, and not even who Tessai was, or what power they had, and he wouldn't have it another way, he is still surprised that Yamamoto-sotaichou hasn't send any captain shinigami to bring him or Tessai to question the whereabouts of Shinji and the others.

"You…saved me?" Ichigo asked, suddenly wincing in his mind as Fira proceed to scream her lungs and explaining that it was her and his natural Rayearth skills to sustain rather obscene damage on him that saved him, not 'Geta-boshi' as Ichigo usually calls Urahara.

"Why yes…in a sense, you were already on the path of self-healing, a rather astonishing ability considering that you are no longer a shinigami, but yet I was able to seal some of your nastier wounds, there will be some scars, but nothing compared of what could have been left without your…rather advance regeneration" Urahara confessed happily, and it was not only him to be surprised by that, Tessai had been visibly shocked, while Jinta and Ururu were slightly shocked, well Jinta nearly had his eyes pop out of his sockets while Ururu…acted as Ururu should, silent and mannered, but with slight shock, is not every day you see someone be able to heal deadly wounds.

Ichigo suddenly perked up, "Oh right!! Did you also find Uryuu? How is he? Is he here too?"

"Nope" Urahara answered, "He already gone, he lost a lot of blood, but he didn't had wounds that compromised vitals, but even if I left him there laying, he wouldn't have died in at least two days" Urahara confessed, "So I treated his wounds on the spot" he added, making Ichigo nod.

"When he left…he was worried…about you…" Urahara said.

"_**Oh yeah baby, man/man love! Fira likes mucho!!"**_

"_Fira!!!" _and if it turned to become a running gag for the rest of his life, Fira would make rude and inappropriate comments on serious moments.

Later, way, way later he would find out that the mighty fire guardian was not the only one with such…skill.

"Thank you for tending me" Urahara began, "However I am fine" he added, "instead…please tend Ichigo" Ichigo eyes slowly began to widen, a mix between surprise and all the things Fira was saying on his head right now.

"Right now…the only one who can beat those bastards is not me…please…heal Ichigo" Urahara said, "The only one who can save Rukia…is him" Urahara finished, "that was what your friend told me" Urahara added to the thinking Ichigo.

"Only me…" Ichigo muttered, on another occasion, without any shinigami powers and without the intervention of Fira he would have asked himself that instead of murmuring that, then snort and ask himself what they expect of him? But this was a different moment, Fira had give him a piece of information that was very valuable, he can recover his shinigami powers, hell he has powers that far surpassed shinigami powers in every sense of the word, but the question still remained, how the hell he was going to reach Rukia when he is stuck on the world of the living and she is on soul society?

"How?" Ichigo asked to Urahara, "How what?" Urahara asked to the boy on the mat, "You know! How I'm suppose to rescue her when I can't reach her!" Ichigo snapped, "You really think…there is no way to reach her?" Urahara said, head bowed down and his hat covering his face, in surprise Ichigo stood up, "There is? Tell me!!"

"Of course, but with one tinny condition" Urahara said, "starting now, for ten days you will to fight properly under my care"

That was not what to tell to a boy who knows that his friend is about to die and has the days counted, especially to a volatile boy who is overprotective to his friends like Ichigo.

"Say what!! You come with that crap now, Rukia is about to be executed! I have to be there fast! Not in ten days or ten hours! Now!!"

"…You are a very exasperating person" Urahara simply said, not even looking at Ichigo, suddenly the bucket hat wearing man shot at Ichigo at blinding speed, his cane barely touching Ichigo's head, Ichigo didn't knew why, maybe it was what Fira said, that cane held something different, but Ichigo didn't want to be touched by the cane in that moment, because he felt it was like getting hit by a sword, so he went to the ground to not be hit by the cane, Urahara following his movements until Ichigo was flat on his back, Urahara hovering on top of him, cane poised right to his forehead, seeing on the base of such the same skull with flames emblem that Rukia had on her glove to separate his body of his soul and that was currently made in crystal on his newly acquired white glove.

"The point I want to make is that you will die if you rush there in your current condition and power" Urahara said, knowing that he was stepping on dangerous grounds, the Rayearth of fire was known for setting things on fire by just looking at them, if Ichigo was indeed a Rayearth then he was in a sense as good as dead, but he had to do it, the boy had talent, and there was other motives to help him break into soul society, motives that were the reason he was currently on the world of the living.

"Do you think you can win if you fight them now?" Urahara asked.

"_**Damn right we can asshole!!"**_

"_Fira enough!"_

"I purposely let you fight them the previous time, I thought it would be easier for you to realize for yourself after you fought them" Urahara pointed out, his cane emitting an odd aura to anyone looking at it, to anyone but Ichigo who finally saw what it truly was.

"_Is…a soul slayer…a zanpakutou…so he is a shinigami?"_

"_**Or use to be one, the fact he is not tearing you apart means that he is not working for the morons that nearly killed ya, but the question is what he is in reality, our ally?"**_

"With you current skills you don't stand a chance against soul society" Urahara said, not even knowing the conversation that Ichigo and Fira were having to one another, "You are weak"

"_**Weak? I'll show you weak, Ichigito as soon he ends his ramble grab his cane and burn it, that will teach him to call us weak!"**_

"_Burn it? How the hell I do that?"_

"_**Just let the fire of your soul and heart flow through your body, let it out, and if you burn his ugly mug even better" **_

Not even knowing that he had touched a nerve of Fira and in extension to Ichigo as well, Urahara continued with his verbal assault, "A weakling barging into enemy territory is suicide" Urahara snapped.

"'To rescue Rukia?' stop being so childish" Urahara said, noticing a black cat at the entrance of the room, "Don't use other people as an excuse to go kill yourself" now that hit a nerve of Ichigo, of course he wasn't using other people to kill himself, Rukia was a friend of his, hell would freeze over first before he allows another one of his friends to get hurt, he let his mom paid the prize of his imprudence and doing nothing to fix it, Rukia would not die, not while he has something to say about it.

With that in mind, Ichigo's hand suddenly grabbed Urahara's cane, ignoring the sudden cry of protest that was oddly female and was not of Fira at all, and did what Fira told him to, he let the fire of his soul and heart out.

Urahara was shocked when Ichigo grabbed his cane, more when Ichigo's eyes acquired a tint only reserved to the flames of hell, a mixture of orange and red, dancing on his pupils like an inferno on its zenith of power, his shock was furthered when he heard the yelp of Benihime when Ichigo grabbed her, a yelp that was turned into screams when then sheath where Benihime was sheathed soon was engulfed on flames, the cane burned with ease, the screams of Benihime were amplified when Ichigo touched the metal of the blade, the steel soon acquiring a red tint for the temperature of the flames, especially where Ichigo was touching.

"I know that you fool, I'm not going to die for no one because simply put I will not die, I will storm soul society, I will rescue Rukia and I will not die" Ichigo said, releasing the blade, as soon that happened the flames around Benihime died out, and all Urahara could hear were the whimpers of his zanpakutou and how she wished to kill Ichigo for that.

"_Good luck with that dear, he is a Rayearth, and not even Yamamoto-Sotaichou can hope to hurt him, let alone kill him" _Urahara reminded to his zanpakutou, Benihime was alright, a little rough on the edges, it cost him a pain in the ass to gain her respect, and easy to anger and make enemies with, the single fact that she was touched by other person than Urahara was already a death sentence, and he was sure Benihime would beg him to release her as soon he can to gain bloody revenge for Ichigo's stun.

Taking a deep breath and seeing Ichigo sat on the mat again, Urahara continued with his rant, "Soul society usually grants a grace period of one month for the maximum penalty for a convict such as Rukia-san" Urahara said, "Ten days of training, and seven days to me to create the door that will lead you to soul society, after that you will have thirteen days to rescue Rukia-san, plenty of time to storm, fight, destroy, burn, rescue her and even get even with the one that destroyed your power" Urahara ended, seeing how Ichigo began to think.

"…Ten days…it will be enough?" Ichigo asked, there was doubt of course, Urahara was talking to regain his shinigami powers and improve, not an easy feat in any sense of the word.

"But of course…" Urahara said, "If you truly want to save Rukia like you claimed" Urahara added, "A strong will is stronger than steel, if your determination is anything less than whole-hearted then throw it away" Urahara stated with conviction.

"_**For a layout moron…he does have a point, if you hesitate you are practically screwed"**_

"_I agree Fira"_

"For ten days" Urahara continued, gripping his cane and bringing it to the level of his face, "Can you be seriously determined to fight?" he asked.

"…if I don't do it…no one else will…" Ichigo muttered, scratching his head, _**"99% possibility of failure and a horrible death on an unknown territory, facing enemies with unknown power…is like the Great War and the 'angel' invasion all over again…it brings me back"**_

"Hm…sure why not…let's do it then!!" Ichigo said, standing up, "Good, good, one question though…is Rukia-san your girlfriend?"

Urahara's answer would come in a loud "SHE AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!!" followed by a streams of flames of the angry teen that in the same fashion that hit Tessai, hit him, "…damn hormones" Urahara muttered, his whole body 'burned' in a comical way.

"_I guess…the rain has stopped…again"_

For the next ten days Ichigo would learn how right he was, and how hard the road was from that moment on.

* * *

_and there you have it people, chapter 1 of the new fic, like it, hate it, still find hard to decide, just review and let me know about your opinion, now as usual in my stories liek this, the next chapter advance, enjoy people..._

**Three days...**

"My ichigo, you're getting impantien, well let's work now shall we?"

**In three days he will meet that which gives him power...**

"...Hm...it seems...my name can't still reach your ears...how much i have to strain myself so you can hear me?"

**Inside that pit of despair, either he will return a full man, or descend into madness...**

"Shinigami robes...and a mask...what's with the flames in the eyes?"

**In the next chapter of Rayearths Knights, Ichigo the Inferno, Will within...**

"...Two swords...a rather interesting side effect"

**Only when you look within yourself, you learn haw strong you truly are...**

"no...that person will kill me"

* * *

_till a next time my friends, Hypn0s logs out, Later!!_


	3. 2: will within

_hello my readers, it is I! Hypn0s, brining you yet another chapter of this story which i'm proud and i'm working on, Rayearth knights: ichigo the inferno._

_now before anyhting else i want to clarify something to those who are entangled in the eternal pairing wars which are waged almost everywhere in Fanfinction, i know most of you want to see another couple besides ichigo and rukia, most of you all want to see orihime with ichigo, others want to see ichigo smothered by matsumoto's mountains or acting all kind with Momo...the pairing posibilities are almost endless, now i know some of you are pissed because of my pairing selection, right now the focus of the sotry is more action than romance, if there is goign to be amorous development, it will be in the last story of the rayearth knights, when all the rayearths are together in crystalia, not before, the only excpetion so far has been naruto with hinata, but that's because we all know he will end with her, so be at ease, this fic so far will have little smut, a lot of blood, curses, innuendo...and a naked yoruichi, so don't worry, to those who wanted another pairing i apologize beforehand, but my selection here is final, no changes whtasoever...unless somehting happens in the manga that changes my opinion, until then no change at all, sorry IchiHime fans and other Ichi(add chick or dude name) fan._

_now let's get this show on the road._

* * *

**CHAPTER 2: WILL WITHIN**

It was a normal day on Soul Society, the days as usual were clear, with a bright sun and clear skies, although resembling an Edo era city, Soul Society had electricity, a plumping system and day-to-day hi-tech equipment hidden all around the ancient looking city, although most of this technological wonders were reserved to shinigami inside Seireitei, such place is the home of the fabled shinigami, while outside the walls of Seireitei, the Rukongai district, filled with average souls lived average lives, sometimes of extreme poverty, depending in which district they live in.

In Seireitei things were normal, especially in the detention center, home of some felons stupid enough to break the rules that rule soul society, most punishment dealt to them are too harsh, even if the felony was light, death.

Making use of his release of Unohana's care at an early time, mostly because his shoulder wound was healing rather well, although made by an unknown mean, Renji Abarai made his way deep into the detention center, a pink and white kimono with flower pictures on the fabric was all he wore, along with the bandages over his torso, along with a white cloth covering his forehead, while the wounds he got while fighting the so called shinigami were not bad, being hit by a big sword still hurt a lot, even to shinigami, know for withstanding obscene amounts of damage to their bodies and let unaccounted amounts of blood of their wounds, was still enough to hamper them if not treated.

"Good morning Abarai-Fukutaichou!" a pair of female shinigami said as they bowed at his passing, "Yo" was all he said to them, while holding such rank was invigorating and being addressed like that was even more invigorating, he had a slight mission of his own, pulling a small black keycard of his kimono, Renji flipped it by the cord attached to it, seeing also the massive gate in front of him, approaching the gate, Renji grabbed firmly the keycard and inserted it on a slot at the side of the gate, a beep sound announcing its acceptance.

The first thing he saw upon entering was another shinigami trying, rather stupidly, to lure a hell butterfly with a toy butterfly, Renji did, of course the only thing a Fukutaichou of his category could do.

"What the hell you thing you're doing?" kicking the shinigami kid on the back of the head for acting like a moron, "Renji-san why did you did that?"

"Learn how to take care of those hell butterflies you moron or I'll repeat it!!" Renji snapped angrily, the hell butterflies were means to communication among shinigami inside Seireitei, but only used when it was more needed, like a meeting or something, so it was important to take care of them, but they served another purpose.

"Hey, Renji-san what are you doing here? I thought you were on a medical leave?"

"Unohana-taichou released me sooner, besides I'm visiting the prisoner as well…how is she?" Renji asked softly, "(Sigh) you mean Kuchiki-san? There is nothing to see" the shinigami announced as he guided Renji to the jail, there he saw Rukia, sat on a chair on the middle of the room, looking at the window and giving her back to anyone else, "She has been like that since last night" the shinigami said.

Taking a deep breath, Renji prepared himself to greet his oldest friend, "Yo"

No response whatsoever of Rukia after that greeting, "How long you plan yourself on torturing yourself like that Rukia? You have to eat something our your body's not gonna keep up with you" he declared, he was concerned, really, but he was acting like a jerk if anyone should see him now, leaning to the jail bars like if he owned the place while talking with a sure soon to be executed woman.

"I'm not torturing myself…" he finally heard, seeing how Rukia turned her head to face him, a very cocky look on her face, "I'm not hungry, that's all…Fukutaichou-dono" she said with a mirth on the last phase, something Renji noted.

"EH!? Do you have a problem to me being Fukutaichou?" he asked with anger, "No, not really…honestly I'm surprised, you surely worked hard climbing the food chain _so hard _in the two months I was gone" she declared.

"Isn't that great? It suits you, work HARD Fukutaichou-dono" she began, "You're so STRONG Fukutaichou-dono" she added with a taunting manner, "You have FUNNY EYEBROWS Fukutaichou-dono" while the first two taunts did nothing to anger him, the third was enough to set him in flames, in the most literal sense.

"I'll kill you!!! Come here and I'll do it myself!" Renji snapped as he rattled the jail bars with all his might, for a whole minute he did that, until she spoke again.

"…Renji"

"Ah!?"

"I wonder if I'm…really going to be executed?" she asked.

"But of course!! They ought to do it right now for what you did, and I mean it RIGHT NOW!!"

"I know" she said with resignation, there Renji knew that he had crossed a line, _"Oh snap, now I made her feel bad"_

That was until he realized something…

"It was a joke, a joke you peabrain! They are not going to do it now!!" he declared with alarm, "I know that you tattooed freak! Then what's the truth!?" she asked/snapped.

With a sigh Renji leaned to the bars of the cage, crossing his arms, "Kuchiki-taichou must be on his way to the meeting on the HQ to give his report as we speak, he'll surely appeal for the communication of your sentence, after all he is your big brother, there is no way he will just stand and see you die" Renji stated seriously.

"…No…that person will kill me" Rukia stated sadly, making Renji stare at her worriedly, "I know what kind of person he is" she began, "Over forty years have passed since I was adopted into the Kuchiki family…and in that time, not even once that person has looked at me"

* * *

Ichigo didn't knew how to feel, the entire day had passed at an agonizing pace, after his recovering and return home to get ready to the next day school, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about Rukia completely, his sisters, his old man, thankfully Kon didn't, but in school it was worse, people actually forgot about Rukia, like if she never came to their lives at all, not even a faint memory, at least Chad, Orihime and Uryuu did remembered her, but the fact that got him quite down was that others didn't at all.

It didn't take him long to reach Urahara's shop, seeing how Urahara was closing up shop already, knowing that he was ready to undertake his shinigami recovering procedure.

Of course what surprised him the most was the fact that Urahara had all set, including a training ground…under his shop, a barren land in all the sense of the word.

While Urahara bragged all over the place about such 'masterpiece' Ichigo took off his jacket and began stretching, "I really don't care for all that yada-yada thing" Ichigo said, "You said yourself that you don't have time, so let's get this over with now" Ichigo snapped.

"My, my…what an admirable spirit…if that's the case, then you will get your wish…" Urahara said, rising his cane, now with a brand new sheath that was fireproof, or so he hopes, the rants of Benihime for the incident of two days ago was honestly making him cranky.

"Let's begin…shall we?" with a single thrust of his cane tip to Ichigo's forehead, Urahara separated Ichigo's body and soul, the soul of Ichigo was send backwards, rolling around until it stopped, "What the hell you think you're doing that all of the sudden!?" Ichigo snapped, standing up…only to fall on his knees, his whole body felt like an overcooked noodle, his knees felt weak completely, _"Okay, this is new"_

"_**No shit Ichigito, I don't feel so hot now"**_ Fira proclaimed, which made Ichigo really wonder what happened to the fire spirit to feel all down, "Is your first time isn't?" Urahara asked, "To be separated of your body as a form other than a shinigami" Urahara added, "Is hard to breath, right? Is also hard to move on that form, don't you think?"

Ichigo eyes widened, Urahara was right, his breath came in heavy pants, while he found hard to move, let alone stand up, not to mention that his chain of fate was now visible "In your current condition, the origin of your spiritual power, your sleeping soul and your booster, the chain links were destroyed by Kuchiki Byakuya" Urahara began, _**"So the name of the prick is Byakuya, save us a lot of problems asking for a stuck up noble asshole if you ask me"**_

"_Not now Fira, first I regain my former powers, then we focus on beating him to an inch of his life, okay?"_

"_**I'm game"**_

"In short words you're a ghost Ichigo, a normal, average ghost, of a normal average human being, without any spiritual powers whatsoever" Urahara said as he crossed his arms, "In order to fight a shinigami you need spiritual power, without it you're nothing, you'll do nothing, so first thing on the list is learning how to move that spiritual body shall we?" Urahara said as he tapped his cane on the floor, "For starters spiritual power is the power that encourages a spiritual body to move, the more spiritual power you have, the sharper your movements of your spiritual body will be" Urahara said, seeing how Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him.

"In short words, if you can move, even with the current spiritual body in the same fashion you do with your mortal body, then it means you have completely recovered your spiritual powers"

"So…I have to do what? Cardio exercises do regain them?" Ichigo asked, "Not at all…but instead of explaining we should start doing it already, GET READY URURU!!" the moment Urahara spoke that name, Ichigo focused his attention on the small girl with a sad looking face, slightly bowing to him.

"Nice to meet you…"

"…Eh…hello?"

"_**Real smooth with words Ichigito, no wonder you got women throwing themselves at you like rain droplets on a rain, you are a modern time Casanova"**_

"Shut up Fira" Ichigo whispered, something Urahara noted, being so close to him, _"So…Fira…the guardian of fire…truly interesting…"_

"Your first lesson Ichigo" Urahara called, "Will be fighting her" he said as he pointed at Ururu, "Say what you crackpot!!?"

"The rules are simple, once either of you can't move, the study lesson ends, so be sure to knock her out before she knocks you out" Urahara called in a sing-song voice.

"…That hat is cutting the air to your brain right? I can't fight her, she is just a little girl, like my sisters, I can't hope to hit her, let alone fight her!!"

"Oh? Considering how you are now it would be a challenge itself" Urahara said with a smile, "Say what!!?" Ichigo snarled, smoke coming out of his mouth, indication that he was about to incinerate Urahara's face point-blank…again.

But before that could happen he heard a clank sound behind him, turning around he saw Ururu already with her gear on, oddly the headgear resembled a turtle face and her gloves looked like turtle shells, "Hey what the…I'm not ready?"

"Please…put this on first…" she began, assuming a combat stance, "Or you will die" was all she said at the surprised Ichigo who saw with a shocked look how the small girl in a blink was already on him, ready to punch him square on the face.

"_**Don't dodge the first blow, use it to measure her strength and how you should react in the rest of the fight" **_following (albeit with some reserves) the advice of Fira, Ichigo didn't do nothing to dodge the punch of Ururu, that would prove to be a very enlightening experience to all when they saw what happened.

Ururu's fist made contact with Ichigo's face, such boy was surprised by the strength behind the punch, more coming of a girl as meek and small as Ururu, with a grunt Ichigo dug his feet on the ground as his face received the blunt of the impact and the ground under him cracked under the pressure, but to the surprise of Tessai and Jinta, Ichigo didn't fly away or died after such impact.

"_I knew it, the Rayearth of fire and its fabled ability to sustain even the nastiest attacks without flinching, surely Ichigo did that to measure how serious Ururu was in terms of combat and power"_ Urahara thought as he saw the look of Jinta, "He…took it all…and he didn't move an inch"

"Is expected, I had my suspicious, but now they are confirmed…he is a Rayearth" Urahara all but whispered to Jinta and Tessai, seeing how Jinta seemed to change of colors after that, and how Tessai rose an eyebrow, more because Ichigo stood up of a crater made around him after the impact, a shocked look on his face.

"_Fira?"_

"_**Yes?"**_

"…_She is strong…I want to fight her…"_

"_**Of course you do…you're a man, man like to fight for sport, now you know what she is capable off, face her and win, oh and please dodge, you might be sturdy now, but you're still an average soul, you might be able to take another pair of those sledgehammers she packs before your soul can't hold anymore, so dodge"**_

Nodding in approval of her strategy, and seeing that the gear might prove useful, he rushed at Ururu…

"He is going to attack her head on" Urahara said…until he saw Ichigo run pass her, "He just run pass her" Tessai muttered, seeing how Ichigo took the head gear, tying the gloves to his hands, but struggling with the headgear, "How the hell you put this on?"

"Just put it on your forehead like this and yell at the top of your lungs 'take this! The power of justice! Justice armor, justice hachimaki!! ATTACK!" Urahara said, "Alright…THE HELL I WILL!!!" Ichigo said in sheer embarrassment, _**"He really expects us to do that?"**_

"_He expects me to do that Fira, you are just a spectator, and he doesn't know you exist!"_

"_**After taking a blow of that girl fed on steroids and breathing fire to his face I surely know he is suspecting at least"**_

Not even paying attention when he ducked one of Ururu's punches that could kill a normal shinigami in a single strike, then noticing that, he looked at Urahara, "Is not the time to be embarrassed Ichigo, you might stood one of her hits but another one of those and you're dead!"

"Damn bastard, but he is right, I have no choice…here goes my pride" Ichigo muttered as he took the headgear and brought it to his head, "…er take this! The power of justice! Justice armor! Justice hachimaki!! ATTACK!!"

"…wow…you really did it…" Urahara said with a hidden smile on his fan…

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Only to be suddenly toasted like a chicken by Ichigo's newly found fire breath, "…Whoa…cool" Jinta muttered as he saw Urahara, well cooked.

"I knew this was going to turn into a running gag" Urahara simply stated as he inspected his newly charcoal colored skin.

Finally tying the headgear properly, and without the need of a stupid phrase, "Alright I'm all ready, come get me if you can!!" Ichigo screamed…

**BOOM!!!**

Only to jump away when Ururu punched a hole on the spot he was, "Come get me IF you can?" Urahara questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Oh shut up already, is a self-defense mechanism, instinct, all but instinct" Ichigo screamed as he kept jumping away of the devastating punches of Ururu launched at him.

"Come to think of it this headgear won't do to withstand her attacks; even with my resistance a hit would be enough to take me dow…" there Ichigo suddenly had a realization, _"If I can run and dodge her attacks, then it means I can catch up with her speed, I don't have her strength, but I have her speed!!"_

"_If that's the case then I can dodge her attacks directly…and retaliate!"_ with that in mind Ichigo stopped, facing the charging Ururu who seemed to not care if he stopped to face her in some sort of dumb stand.

Ururu suddenly launched a left straight at Ichigo, slightly damaging the cheek protection of his headgear due to how close her fist came to his face, but he dodge it, _"I can do it!!" _suddenly Ichigo retaliated with a left hook aimed at the little girl, so said girl dodging the punch, much to the surprise of Urahara for the bold strategy of Ichigo.

The next minute was filled by Ichigo and Ururu trying to punch one another, but Urahara suddenly noticed something on the stare of Ichigo and Ururu to one another, "Oh dear…" he muttered loud enough to Tessai to hear…

**BAMM!!!**

The look of Jinta was priceless when he saw Ichigo and Ururu collide fists, creating a shockwave upon impact.

Jinta only could stare in mute shock as Ururu and Ichigo began to collide fists with one another, every time they did it a shockwave was created, dust and pebbles flying away every time a hit was landed, "Is…unreal" Jinta muttered, "Perhaps…" Urahara stated with a narrow of his hidden eyes, Jinta and Tessai did noted the serious tone on Urahara's voice, and more with what he told next, "I'm going to end this" in less than a blink, Urahara was already in front of Ichigo and Ururu, their fists so close of their intended targets after seeing an opening on their enemy's defense.

What shocked Jinta however was the fact that Urahara had grabbed the hands of Ichigo and Ururu, stopping them in mid-fist fight, that action was enough to break the trance in which Ichigo and Ururu were caught into, blinking several times, Ichigo looked at Urahara, then at Ururu.

"The hell happened?" Ichigo asked, "Oh just you two got caught in the fight, haven't I stopped you two…you would have killed Ururu with your next attack" Ichigo tensed up at that, "No way, she's way stronger than I am!"

"Perhaps, but I must remind you Rayearth, that you live for battle, the Rayearth of fire is the most fighting capable knights, with the exception of the queen, in every battle you enter some sort of trance, after a while you have analyzed every single movement, technique and weakness of your opponent, what happened here is proof of that, you got caught in your trance of fight, analyzed Ururu, stripped her style of combat, studied it in less than a second, saw weaknesses, exploited them, haven't I caught your fist then you would have punched a hole on Ururu's chest with the strength that fist was coming to her" Urahara said, releasing Ichigo's hand, then showing the teen his hand.

Urahara's hand seemed to have been put against sand paper, because it was red, and bleeding, "Trust me on this Ichigo, I'm not your ordinary vendor of shinigami artifacts, a normal shinigami had interview in your fight with Ururu would have end up dead, so please try to control yourself" Urahara finally ended.

"So…nobody won eh? Let's do it again Ururu" before the girl could nod, Urahara had already stopped both of them of getting at it, "There is no need for that Ichigo, you passed" Urahara stated, shocking Ichigo, "Eh? What?"

"_**You passed ichigito, congrats!"**_

"_I know…but how?"_

"I simple Kurosaki-san" Urahara began, "The objective of the test was to you recover your spiritual energy, when you dodged the first punch of Ururu I saw you were acting as if you were in your spiritual form, meaning that after the fight, you must feel rather relaxed, flexible, you are able to move now as you could move when you had powers, you recovered your powers" Urahara said, padding Ururu's head.

"Besides I am surprised to say the least, an ordinary shinigami would have died after receiving a punch or Ururu here, but of course you're not exactly ordinary, in both human and spiritual case…Rayearth" Urahara said, "…How did you found out?" Ichigo asked, it was not like him ask things like that, especially considering that he has been a Rayearth for at least a day no less.

"Oh you breathing fire is a quick give away" Ichigo there kinda rose and eyebrow in embarrassment, "Second of course is the glove on your hand, that is the undisputed mark of a Rayearth knight, only the selected knights bear it, the cloth the glove is made of is suppose to be part of the fabric of the universe itself, and the crystal that decorates it is suppose to be part of the soul of the bearer, so no crystal is the same in each Rayearth, as unique as a zanpakutou, the third one was your wounds, the rayearths are known for being rather resilient on combat, but the Rayearth of fire overwhelms them because he heals faster than them, he or she can take a lot of punishment, and dish even more before they fall, I heard stories of a Rayearth that lost its arm on combat, bled to death…but took the enemy army with him down" Urahara said, making Ichigo to slightly pale, he was not exactly in the mood to test that theory of his near invulnerability to pain and dismemberment.

"In any case you passed, now we can pass to the second portion of our little training" Urahara said, "Really? Then bring it on then!" Ichigo regretted those words the moment Tessai cut his chain of fate with a big axe, he had spend enough time with Rukia to know what happens when someone cuts your chain of fate, and the aftermath of it, Hollow.

"…I…can't believe it" Ichigo commented, _**"I…honestly didn't saw that coming, although you got to commend him for being so straight forward"**_

"_Not helping Fira!"_

"_**Hey I did comment you had to lose your chain to regain your powers"**_

"_Yes I remember, but I thought it would be…I don't know…MORE SUBTLE!!"_

"_**Being subtle is so underhanded these days; I prefer a blunt style, as blunt as a kick in the balls with an iron boot, by the way stop chocking Urahara"**_

"Eh?" Ichigo did a double take after what Fira said to him, looking at his hands, it was confirmed that he indeed, was chocking Urahara, rather comically considering that Jinta, Ururu and Tessai were trying to pry Urahara's neck without success, and the face Urahara was making…was priceless Ichigo decided.

After some extra shakes, to get his message clear that he didn't like what Urahara and Tessai did, he let Urahara go, this one gasping as he held his sore neck, "Well…can't say I wasn't expecting that" Urahara began, seeing the scowling face of Ichigo and his piercing stare at him, "Ooookay, I believe you want some explanation for what I did?" he asked, "Damn right I want it!!"

Sighing in slight annoyance, Urahara complied, "Well, this is to force your transformation to shinigami" Urahara began, "The corrosion on your chain has already began, soon the corrosion will eat all the chain, so you will die and then become and hollow, the end" Urahara began, "Your only option here is to become a shinigami" Urahara added, "Yeah you mentioned that…but how?!"

"Oh that, don't worry, that's the objective of the second part of our exercise" Urahara began, "So let's go forth, onto the shattered shaft!" Urahara said with drama and passion, suddenly pointing his fan to the horizon, Ichigo followed, then he felt the lack of something solid on his feet, looking down he saw that he was now floating in the middle of a very deep hole on the ground.

"…I hate YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!" then he fell, "Ho-Ho-Ho, surprised by my magnificent feint were you?"

"UUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" Urahara rose and eyebrow at the continued scream of Ichigo, then turned to Ururu, ""Is pretty deep…isn't it?"

"I put a lot of effort in it" was all Ururu said while flexing some muscles.

_**Ten minutes later…**_

Ichigo groaned as he recovered his senses, he tried to bring his hands to lift himself up, but found that he had his arms bounded on a thick black leather binds, and to add he had some sort of metallic rectangular 'pins' attached to his arms, Tessai was right behind him, seated Indian style and his arms on a strange handseals, and focused, deeply focused.

"The hell" Ichigo moaned as he kneeled, then looked up, spotting Urahara, looking at him rather seriously, _"That's a new look of him"_

"_**I agree ichigito, not that I can blame him for being so serious now, this part is rather critical, he can't joke with what is at stake"**_

"_Yeah…"_

"I see you are awake, that's a good sign" Urahara began, "What's next?" Ichigo simply asked, "Impatient are we?"

"I and Rukia have not the time to spare Urahara, you know that" Ichigo simply stated, "True, true, good to know you are keeping your sights on the goal, but sometimes is better to keep your eyes on the track" Urahara simply mentioned.

"So…what's the deal of the second test?"

"Simple…climb up"

"…That's all? It sounds rather easy"

"It sounds…but is rather hard…considering what will happen now" Urahara said, in that precise moment Ichigo severed chain of fate links began to grew mouths, mouths that began to devour the chain, "The hell...AAAAAAHHHH! It hurts!"

"The corrosion has already began, the chain will eat itself up to the core"

"STOP IT!!" Ichigo said in fear, suddenly dashing to the wall and rubbing the chain, and his stomach into the walls, "Stop this shit!! AAAAHHH!" only to back away in pain when he saw the mouths on the chain to bite his stomach.

"I can't do that, the mouths are hungry, and will eat anything…even I will be eaten" Urahara said, seeing how Ichigo fall on his back, moaning in pain, while other souls suffered a lot during the corrosion, Urahara noted that Ichigo's Rayearth resilience was helping him withstand the most of the pain, moan now was a good sign that screaming in pain and agony.

"This process takes up to months or years to be completed, but in this 'hole of despair' the process speeds up, a gas right now is being pumped into the hole, accelerating the process to unheard levels, during that the time of the corrosion is reduced to three days, can you climb up here in three days, regain your shinigami powers…or lose yourself and become a hollow…one I will be forced to deal with, regardless of who it was in the past" Urahara said coldly, "That…is entirely up to you"

"Not much of an option there, either I get out or I die" Ichigo snapped, glaring at Urahara, "…Yeah that's pretty much it"

"BASTARD!!" that was followed by yet another streams of flames out of Ichigo's mouth, of course that one was not aimed to Urahara at all, just aimed to the air in general, it was more like a way to vent his current anger, something Urahara thanked he wasn't the target, those flames felt rather hot this time compared to the other two Ichigo let last time on him.

"Ururu, Jinta, keep a little eye on him…and don't piss him off Jinta-kun…" Urahara began, slowly walking away, "The Rayearth of fire has the…tendency of igniting all he glares into fire…with hot flames of hell itself I might add" Urahara said, making Jinta to gulp visibly, _"There…that should keep him in line until he finds out that Ichigo is still unable to spontaneously combust people with his eyes"_

* * *

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

She has trained a lot of people, she has trained with a lot of people…and one thing she has learned so far is that yelling like an idiot doesn't help to attain your true potential or activate hidden powers.

Of course no one told that to Orihime and Chad, but she couldn't blame them for that of course, they were normal human beings, or as normal they can be after what Ichigo did to them unintentionally, his already huge spiritual power was already hard to control, even to some captains of the Gotei 13, they learned to control it because they had time to do so, Ichigo had neither the one hundred years of experience to control it neither the patience to do so, if the fact he roasted Urahara's face was of any indication, that and the fact that unlike the captains or any other shinigami know, they had formal training, training that spawned of at least years, years were they were basically drilled on most of the shinigami basic arts until they learned to master them, Ichigo didn't had the bases other trained shinigami had.

Yoruichi sighed as she saw Chad and Orihime tried (in vain) to surface their inner powers like they did when that hollow invasion came to the town, she knew that while determined to do so, they lacked that spark needed to summon forth their newly acquired powers, that spark that in Ichigo's was more like a sun rather than a spark.

True she admits she was shocked, stupefied at first when she saw that he, Ichigo Kurosaki of all people, turned to be the Rayearth of fire, maybe one of the most powerful mortal beings in the universe know, including of course the Queen of Crystalia, Vasto Lorde and the sotaichou had nothing to match the raw power the Rayearth knights have, simple as that, even if Urahara could not feel it, she did, animals have a way to feel things humans, or shinigami can't, Ichigo had something simply put that other beings as Vasto Lorde and the King of Soul Society don't have.

The Rayearth knights are forces of nature, things that no man or creature can oppose, they are like light and darkness, forces that all can see and somehow touch, but no one can comprehend, let alone understand, forces of balance, and the sole fact that Ichigo was a Rayearth meant one thing, or better said several.

More Rayearths were selected, the balance was being thrown in Crystalia, something bad was about to happen.

And in the middle of it was going to be Ichigo and whoever was going to tag along with him and the other rayearths in what most people describe as a wild ride.

Yoruichi smirked slightly; her cat like body and face allowed her to do that a lot and no one would realize that.

She really wondered what kind of reaction the Gotei 13 would have when they realize they made an enemy out of a Rayearth, one that without shadow of a doubt won't hesitate in storming Seireitei and turning the place on charcoal just to find Rukia, true his powers are still immature, but if what her father had told her about the knights was true, then in less than a week she could expect Ichigo challenging Captain level shinigami with ease, or with some difficulty.

Another thing that brought a smirk upon her feline face was if the Gotei 13 would actually believe that Ichigo was in fact a Rayearth, for being a group of 'death gods' sometimes they were too close minded, hell she wouldn't be surprised if Yamamoto and central 46 would dispatch a shinigami to kill Ichigo, just because his existence is a 'insult' to shinigami or any other life, just like one-hundred years ago…

"Okay kids enough…you won't do squat acting like that" she began, her voice of course changed by her feline form, "I think we need to approach this in another way…"

_**Day one…**_

"AAAAAHHHHUUUGGGGAAAHHH!" Ichigo basically screamed as the corrosion of his chain of fate continued, making him writhe in pain on the ground, the fact that every time he exhaled he let flamers out of his mouth and nostrils and his body was basically so hot that the beads of sweat formed on his body every time the corrosion began were turned into steam didn't help a lot on the overall image Jinta was having on how Ichigo's hollow would look and what powers it would have if Ichigo ended up as a hollow.

Maybe that explains why he has a fire extinguisher and ridiculous amounts of water buckets at his side, all of course brought by Ururu, "My…" Urahara began once he saw the 'counter-measures' Jinta had for Ichigo's fire based powers, "So much water…are you going to make tea?"

"NO!" Jinta began, "These is in case he turns into a flame-breathing hollow, I'm not going to be toasted to death then eaten like a roasted chicken by that boy!!" Jinta began, ""Jinta-kun…he already breaths fire" Urahara reminded the red headed kid, "And? I'm not taking any chances with him, maybe now he can controls himself, but Kami knows that the moment he turns hollow we are all screw" Jinta said.

"My…having doubts of my and Tessai skills in killing hollows?"

Jinta took his time to think his answer, he looked rather serious, something Urahara noticed, and then Jinta turned at him, "Have you ever killed a Vasto Lorde?" nothing else was said, because Urahara understood his question, Jinta knew that Ichigo would not come as your average hollow fresh out of a human body, no, with the massive spiritual power he has even as a human, he would end up close to the Vasto Lorde hollow level.

He really hoped that Jinta was just joking.

_**Day two…**_

"ORAORAORAORA…AAAHHHHHH!!" Ichigo screamed as he tried, without success to wall run his way out of the hole of despair, "This is hopeless, I can't jump that high, I'm still sore after the last corrosion, and oh yeah, last I checked I wasn't a human size grasshopper" Ichigo muttered to himself.

"_**(Sigh) ichigito, you have great powers, why don't you use them?"**_

"_You actually expect me to shoot fire out of my feet as a jet and shoot out of here?" _

"_**Hm…no…but that reminds me of a funny thing that happened, it involved beans, a fireplace and a bad case of indigestion of the Rayearth of fire, oh and a boom, a big boom"**_

"…_Good gracious me…I'm a freaking bomb!!"_

"_**No…just your ass and gases"**_

"_Not helping!"_

"_**Hey see it in the bright side"**_

"_What bright side, I'm going to turn into a hollow and my ass turned to be a gas cannon! What's so bright side about that!?"_

"_**You can always incinerate your enemies with your ass if you give them your back…you got all bases covered"**_

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Ichigo roared as he basically went berserk inside the pit, fire streams coming out of his mouth at random targets; it was by fate that one of those targets was a just coming Urahara, who got hit by a stray fire blast, hard.

"…This is starting to get old" Urahara said annoyed as he walked away, he just washed himself, and the clothes he was wearing were just out of the dry cleaner!

_**Day three…**_

Ichigo moaned in pain, that last corrosion took a lot of him, again, the fact that Fira had finally suggested to him to use his telekinetic powers to enhance his sprint, while a good idea and somehow a basic ability of all rayearths, was out of the question, why? Simply said the corrosions were eating all his stamina, it was screwing out his concentration, hell those things tried to ate him, now it was getting worse, he felt worse than ever, and to make it worse, this was the last day, if he didn't exit the hole, he was as good as gone.

On a positive note, if he ends as a hollow, he'll focus on screwing Urahara for putting him in this kind of pain, word.

As he forced himself on a kneeling position, he saw Jinta descend to him with a tray of fruits, wearing a smirk on his face, "I know you still can't ignite people with your glare" Jinta declared proudly, _**"Before you ask you can ignite people with your glare, is kinda an advanced technique, oh but is so worth the time spend to master it" **_Ichigo mentally smirked, because his whole body felt like lead now.

"What do you want?" Ichigo asked to the red-headed kid, "I brought some food moron, thought you might be hungry"

"I'm a spirit you blockhead, spirits don't feel hungry" Ichigo snapped, "Oh…good then" Jinta began, "Because you see, if you feel hungry now, then it means you are closer to become a hollow" Jinta said, "That's suppose to scare me or what?" Ichigo snapped, "No…but what will happen next will" Jinta said, looking at Ichigo with a smirk, "You know…the last corrosion is the worse" with that told, the last corrosion began, to Ichigo's horror, the whole chain suddenly crumbled apart, along with the base of the chain attached to his chest, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of his chest.

"…This…is going to hUUUUUAAAAARRRRRRR!!!" was all Ichigo said or better said roared before his whole body exploited in pain, white liquid came out of his eyes and mouth as that began to convert onto his face, slowly forming a white mask.

"Holy crap he is truly turning into a hollow!" Jinta said, somehow he was able to escalate the hole in less than a minute, "Beginning rescue measures" Ururu suddenly said as she held her left arm like if it was some sort of missile, "Hold it"

"Kisuke-san" Ururu said in surprise, "Watch closely" Urahara began, "usually when a plus descends into a hollow, their bodies are destroyed, then rearranged into a new form, but the procedure here is all wrong" Urahara said, "The mask is forming first, that is a signal of his resistance, let's wait…a little longer, a little while longer" Urahara said, his eyes were shadowed by his hat, so neither Ururu or Jinta could see the serious and sad eyes that Urahara casted upon Ichigo,_ "Another one"_

Urahara could not bear the sight of another person turning into a hybrid, neither the screams that came alongside the procedure.

* * *

"Can you hear me…Ichigo?"

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes, slowly standing up; Ichigo surveyed the area where he was, seeing buildings, streets, all he saw…

"The other half" Ichigo said, looking at 'the sky' of the city, seeing the floating volcano that was Fira's realm, hell, unlike when he looked at the sky when in the volcano, he could see clearly the place, a sea of green, along with a sea of blue, mountain ranges that slithered around his visage, it was quite a sight to behold to anyone who looked at the sky, and to add there was not even a single cloud on sight, the sun was shining, hard.

"Amazing" was all Ichigo said, staring at the 'sky' that was Fira's realm, well, one thing is certain, it beats the crap out of any clear day sky with a rainbow anytime, and that's for certain.

"Over here" Ichigo heard behind him, turning around, he spotted a middle aged man, what seemed to be dark ragged robes covering most of his body, and unshaved face with brown shaggy long hair, tinted stylish glasses, staring at him, as the wind picked up and waved his clothes and hair.

"Who…are you?" Ichigo asked, "Who?" the man began "What are you talking about, is me, ----------"

Ichigo rose and eyebrow, he heard clearly what the man said, but the last part he didn't get it, like someone had put mute in that instant, "Excuse me…can you repeat the last part?"

"…I see, I still haven't reached you yet, how sad…how many times I have to strain my voice before it reaches you?" the man mentioned, "Yet, in this world, only you know me better than anyone else"

"…know you? I hardly know someone as depressing as you…" Ichigo mentioned, but he stopped when he realized of something very important, the man was standing vertically on a flagpole, "The hell…how do you do that?"

"I'm surprised" the man said, "How can you sit in such a place easily?"

Ichigo didn't understood that, until he looked well at his surroundings, he thought that the building was vertically placed so he could seat well, but the building was horizontal like anything else, and he somehow was able to sit vertically on one of the sides of it, of course when he realized of this he began to fell of his position, falling onto the ground, screaming.

"If you're screaming then it means you're relaxed, that's promising"

"**My, you have some twisted sights of promising old goat"**

"Fira!!" Ichigo snapped as he turned to his left, seeing how Fira descended along with him and the old man to the ground, **"You know ichigito; we have to stop meeting us in situations when your life is at peril" **

"Don't even start dammit!!"

"He is right Fira-san"

"**Oh now you side with him! Leaving this defenseless, hot and lonely woman all to fend on herself"**

"I really doubt you are defenseless"

"WOULD YOU TWO CUT IT AND FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS!!"

"**Sure grumpy pants"**

"Indeed…death god"

"Uh…I think you got it wrong, I'm no death god…not yet at least"

"Remember!" the old man snapped at Ichigo, "The powers Kuchiki Byakuya destroyed were only the powers Kuchiki Rukia granted you, of course that was he aimed on"

"Like Fira said"

"Indeed, he was careless, he thought he could end all the matter by destroying them, it was a mistake, and he failed to see you have your own shinigami powers"

"I know"

"Good, those powers, which were slowly awaken by Kuchiki Rukia's own powers hid themselves right in the moment Kuchiki Byakuya attacked, he failed to notice them, and he will pay the price for it" in that moment the old man suddenly did a sudden stop in mid-air along with Fira, letting Ichigo fall alone, "Find them, if there is any moment you are to find your hidden powers is now, when this world is starting to crumble"

Ichigo eyes widened as he saw the buildings which this world was made off, suddenly crumble into white boxes of all sorts, like a rain.

"In these countless boxes, your shinigami powers are hidden, find that one and release the power hidden in them, just one box"

"Are you out of your mind? Just select one box? Who the hell you think I am? A seer?"

"I won't listen excuses, you must find that box before this world crumbles, if you don't…then you will become a hollow"

The old man and Fira saw how Ichigo suddenly pummeled onto a hole suddenly formed into the pavement, lots of boxes following him, **"That Byakuya guy…for being a noble it carried a lot of bugs in him"**

"You refer to the leech?" the man asked to Fira, **"Not just that old goat, the blade of that moron carried two bugs aimed especially to a Rayearth, the leech, which Ichigo killed, rather quickly I might add, and the Nemesis"**

"Nemesis? Is it bad?"

"**Not for the time being, if something good is to come out of this is the fact there won't be hollow Ichigo around here bothering you about king and horse and all that crap, it will not stall Ichigo…but…once Nemesis fully awakens, ichigito will have his hands full, of that I assure you"**

"Is that so…you don't sound preoccupied?"

"**Why I should be preoccupied? Draconax's Rayearth faced his ultimate adversary, Gaia seems tired of the current queen, her bitchy princess and has decided to select a new queen, one that seems to be fitting for what comes ahead, and Anima's Rayearth is not exactly a pushover either, who would imagined that on that cute childish façade he holds one of the few natural disasters that could butcher the angels during the angel wars on Crystalia with ease, true ichigito will have his hands full…but you and I know he and the other rayearths will face worse…far worse" **Fira stated as she saw the boxes suddenly gain a white cloth on them, only two boxes had a red cloth, both where grabbed by Ichigo without hesitation, pulling them open, and revealing two identical zanpakutou hilts inside them.

"**That's your cue old man" **Fira said with a smile, "Indeed, I hope you keep him happy enough to me enjoy some sunny days, I hate rain"

"**You can always come to my place and get piss of drunk; I'll make sure you see more than the sun with me"**

Not even bothering to answer her, the old man shot to where Ichigo was floating, **"Sheezz, colder than an ice cube, he must like sunny days because they warm his stiff ass"**

"I heard that"

Enjoying the fun she gained at expenses of the old man, Fira saw how he conversed with Ichigo, then frowned when she felt how the world began to shake, **"Pull the swords out you moron"**

* * *

Urahara stare with apprehension as he saw half of the mask form on Ichigo's face, so far so good, he expected, in a way, last time he had seen a hollowfication in progress it wasn't as nearly as violent as the one Ichigo's was passing by, but it was as painful as usual, he still remembers the pained looks of those eight shinigami who fell on that horrible process that broke a lot of laws regarding shinigami.

There he frowned, the shinigami at all were more than 2000 years old, but little things changed at all in those two millenniums, rules were still hard and harsh as usual, people outside Seireitei suffered a lot, while the shinigami inside had a good life, central 46 ruled above the sotaichou, and sometimes many believed above the king itself.

But Urahara knew better than that, the king hasn't done nothing because simply he, or better said, she was left on the dark, he counted that Ichigo's actions would stir enough commotion, havoc and above all, the attention of the queen of Soul Society, there he snickered, all assumed that the high ruler of Soul Society was a man, hell even Yamamoto believed that, but because the old shinigami didn't had the balls to actually seek an audience to talk with the ruler, had he done that he would have been quite surprised.

Hell if the fact that Lisa and Hiyori almost suffered a seizure the day…Ichigo became what he is nowadays was enough proof of the shock others would feel once the true identity of the royal family is revealed…

"Uh…Kisuke-san…is that suppose to happen?" Ururu interrupted Urahara's train of thoughts with an innocent question, of course she would ask something like that, witnessing the inverted hollowfication of a person is an event that few have the graze or luck to see, he bets his money that Mayuri would kick his own ass for not seeing what he was…

"HOLY SHIT!" Urahara cursed out loud, so far the hollowfication had been normal, or the definition of normal in the case of an inverted hollowfication process were the mask forms first before the body of the plus disintegrates and forms into another thing, but what was happening was new, on a whole new level.

Hollow masks come in all kind of designs, from a simple dog like skull design, to more complex designs that include bone lie feathers, mouths, extra eye sockets, to name a few, while most masks held the distinctive white bone theme, just a few masks had extra colors, red, yellow or blue stripes in them, but white has always been the dominant color on a mask, that and the only color so far know on a hollow mask, now he was rethinking that part.

Ichigo's mask seemed to have taken a different color, while the right side of the mask was bone white, the other side was pitch black, to make things worse, that part had been formed so far was being made by a black matter that came out of Ichigo's mouth and somehow still exposed eye, instead of a white matter that usually is expelled during the mask formation.

Urahara there narrowed his eyes, that was something unexpected, not to say scary in a way, it was perhaps the first mask that had a different color than white, while his scientific side wanted to see why that had happened, his rational side kicked in, reminding him that whatever had generated such thing was not good, and it was inside Ichigo, he actually feared that he might had created something worse than a Vasto Lorde, which is kinda hard to do or top, considering that Vasto Lorde, if he heard right, is considered one of the five most dangerous creatures on the known universe, tied in place with the Kyuubi, topping the Ghost King and the Dark Lord personal hit man, the Nemesis, but being overshadowed by the Dark Lord itself.

"This…can't end well" Urahara said, seeing how Ichigo broke the restrains on his arms easily, screaming like a berserk animal about to tear a new one to the one who made him ill, "I am at my limit Tenchou, I will move to eradication procedures" Tessai snapped as he slammed both his index and middle fingers of both of his hands on the ground, "Way of binding No. 99 type 2: Bankin!" Tessai roared, suddenly the ground around him exploited, white wraps of cloths came out around him, aimed at Ichigo.

"First song: Shiryuu!!" the cloths surrounded Ichigo head to toe, binding him completely, "Second song: Hyakurensan!!" then several sewing size needles came out of nowhere, stabbing Ichigo all over his body"

"Oi Tessai, if you do that you'll kill him!!" Jinta snapped, at the former Kido master, "I am sorry, but I am at my limit of just restraining him, he has to be eliminated before he becomes a hollow" Tessai said sternly, suddenly clapping his hands hard, "forgive me…Kurosaki-dono…final song: Bankin Taihou!!" Tessai said, out of the sky, a massive rectangular block of steel suddenly appeared, falling to the hole where Ichigo was.

Suddenly the wraps around Ichigo's chest broke in a flash of light as it fell, "This is the end!!"

**BOOM!!!**

Urahara suddenly dragged Ururu and Jinta, using his body to protect both youths of the explosion that came out of the hole of despair, out of the hole suddenly a yellow beam or something came out, shooting to the sky, then bouncing to the walls around the training area several times before finally landing in solid ground with a tremendous explosion that rose dust all over the area.

As the smoke settled, Jinta was able to stand up, looking at the point where the beam came to crash, "Oi, can you hear me?" he called, "orange boy, are you alive?" he asked again, "Answer if you're alive"

His answer came when an outline of a person was visible through the smoke, and a pair of glowing red eyes glared at him, instantly he took a step back at that, and more when the smoke revealed more of the person in there, shinigami robes, a huge sheath for a sword, a white cloth still attached to his shoulder by three needles, another cloth made the mockery of a turban on the head of the person, then the face was visible, a mask that resembled a skull, the right half of the mask was in white, the other half in black with three red stripes on the 'forehead' section, the fact that the mask mouth let a small amount of flames out didn't help at all.

"Shinigami robes…and a mask…a hollow? Or a shinigami?" Jinta asked in fear, he had seen a lot of hollows in his life, especially more when he lives in Karakura town, a hot spot for hollows, but he had never seen a human shaped hollow, never, especially one with shinigami robes and a zanpakutou strapped on his back.

Soon Jinta and Ururu took defensive stances when they saw the man/hollow reach for his sword, just to pull the hilt, the guard and small portion of a blade attached to the guard, "Don't take us lightly moron, if you want to come then come get some!" Jinta snapped, only to see in shock along with Ururu how he slammed the butt of his broken zanpakutou to the mask, breaking the lower part of it, then, slowly, he removed the mask, revealing to the two kids and Urahara the face of Ichigo, no trace whatsoever of a hollowfication besides the mask that now hung of the left side of his head.

"He…didn't turned into a hollow" Jinta exclaimed, seeing how Ichigo flexed his hands, forming a fist once in a while, and examining the odd glove on his left hand.

"_So…I still have the glove eh…guess the Rayearth work is for real…not that I complain"_ Ichigo thought as he saw Urahara approach him, "Congrats, you recovered your powers just in time, superb! Lesson two clear!!" Urahara said, laughing while fanning himself.

Ichigo's answer as now common to Urahara now, let out a stream of flames directly to the face of the manager of the shop, "…I still don't feel good" Ichigo said, then he hit Urahara on the jaw with the butt of the hilt, "Now I feel good" Ichigo said with obvious satisfaction as he saw Urahara clutch his jaw after such hit, to Ichigo it was normal, but to Urahara was another story altogether.

"_That…that hurt! That really hurt!" _while Urahara had pretended before the pain of the physical abuse of Ichigo and fire like halitosis, and not so much the one of indigestion of one of Tessai outdated TV medicine he always buys, Urahara, being a former captain, has the resilience of a genetically engineer perfect bull, in fact all captains do, physical attacks do little to hurt them unless aimed to specific points of the body, the hit laced with Reiryoku, zanpakutou of course could do a lot more damage than any physical attack, Kido spells, but one thing that got him shocked was that the attacks Ichigo did on him, with the sole intention of venting some rage and had no killing intention behind them, hurt like a bitch.

The fire had singed not only his special Gigai, but his spiritual body, the shinigami body hidden under the false human cluster had been actually wounded, by a simple flame, Urahara, by years of training had bit the pain that came with that kind of wound that surely, while would not leave any visible damage, would without a doubt leave its mark, not to mention the second attack that came, true a hit by a blunt object on the face hurts, there is no exception to that rule…well perhaps Kenpachi but he works with another set of rules he is still trying to decipher, but the hit of a broken zanpakutou, of the hands of a shinigami so fresh that not even a captain should feel bothered in dodging, let alone feeling pain if the hit impacted on them, but it hurt, a lot…and it scared him.

It scared him to a point that the understood the almost irrational anger and slight fear the sotaichou had for the legend of the Rayearth knights and anything related to that legend that now was not so much of a legend, for it was said in hushed whispers between Unohana, Shunsui and Jushirou and later shared to him was that the most prominent scar Yamamoto had on his body, the X scar on his head had been made 300 years before Urahara became captain, not by a hollow, not by a Vasto Lorde or a lucky menos like some say, no, it had been made by the only living person that had escaped Ryūjin Jakka flames, a Rayearth, right on the time the last Rayearth knights were seen, the times of the so called 'Lord wars' an event so obscure that is more than a crazy's man tale than a myth, yet it seemed that had occurred, and had caused the wound Yamamoto has on his head and the resentment he seems to harbor for the Rayearth knights, particularly with the so called Rayearth of wind, the one who caused him the wounds on his head.

Urahara actually trembled upon thinking what the great Yamamoto-sotaichou would do if he ever finds out that Ichigo is the newest Rayearth knight? Nothing good that's for certain, considering that the captain-commander takes grudges to a whole new level.

Slowly standing up, Urahara knew that the third part of this test was going to be trickier, a lot, he expected that Ichigo would assume that his sword was a normal sword, not a zanpakutou, but Ichigo knew, it had tested it, any other sword caught on those flames would have melted like butter, zanpakutous needed more than magical infused flames of the still infant powered Rayearth to be damaged, but I had caused damage…to Benihime's pride that is.

Ichigo would take this test seriously, which worried him a lot…or not, it has been quite a while since he has a good fight, honestly said, 100 years of inactivity can cause some stiffness, and let's face it, he is a guy, a guy forged on battle, his kind fights and sleeps, and so far he has been sleeping for the past 100 years, he needed a good wake up call.

"Well Ichigo, I see you are determined now, and…fired up" Urahara said with a smile, "So we will pass to the next phase of our little test" he said simply, "This one has no time limit whatsoever, you just have to knock my hat over, and you'll pass"

Urahara, by sheer honed reflex leaned slightly backwards, avoiding the sudden cutting motion of…another broken zanpakutou on Ichigo's hand?

If he didn't see it he wouldn't believe it alright, first he is explaining Ichigo what he must do, then suddenly, in a flash of light and flames Ichigo had sweep his left arm at him, his left hand held a very similar broken zanpakutou like the one on his right hand, the only difference was that the zanpakutou still visible blade was red, not silver or white, beyond that it was the mirror image of the former zanpakutou of Ichigo.

"Two…swords?" Jinta wondered in shock, it was already hard to digest the fact that the orange haired kid was a Rayearth, that it didn't turned into a fire-breathing hollow and didn't cooked him like a chicken so he could eat him, but now he was more surprised by the second zanpakutou, it was the mirror image of the other, something was up, he knew it.

"Well…I can see you are not waiting" Urahara began, slowly unsheathing his own zanpakutou, "Very well…shall we dance?" Ichigo didn't need another word of coaxing, on another world perhaps Ichigo would have taunted Urahara and actually declared something stupid, not knowing the true nature of Urahara and the sword he carried on his cane, but this was different matter altogether, he was different, he had info, and above all he was taking things into a different approach, a serious approach, Ichigo suddenly approached Urahara, swinging his right zanpakutou at him, Urahara simply blocked the hit with his cane/hilt, to his everlasting surprise, Ichigo used his other zanpakutou, brought the red broken blade to bear and slashed the cane in two parts in a way that was useless to him to use to defend himself.

"_The hell…he just reacted accordingly to my defense…he broke in a single move…what just happened in that hole?"_

Urahara took several steps back to assets this new situation, he was a damn captain for crying out loud, how come he just got one of his most solid defensive and counter movements got so easily bypassed, he did noticed the other zanpakutou, so he had his other arm free, but the attack had been so sudden and…damn he cut his Reiryoku reinforced cane with a broken zanpakutou, that's just messed up on many levels!

Jinta saw that as well with a shocked gaze, not even noticing Tessai emerging of the hole of despair until he was already at his side, "Heavens Ho" Tessai exclaimed as he adjusted his damaged glasses, "Tessa...Tessai?" Jinta exclaimed with a shocked expression, "You are okay?"

"Of course not! My glasses are completely totaled"

"I meant as you're not wounded?" Jinta clarified, turning to see the battle, a frown of his face as he saw the boy content with Urahara on somehow equal grounds, they were so close and clashing swords, but of course that was required by Ichigo, seeing that 80% of his blade was gone on both swords he held.

"This…is insane how can he fight like that on Tenchou's level?" Jinta asked in shock, "Tenchou is not fighting on his whole level…though I admit he is surprised" Tessai said, seeing how Urahara assessed the situation, he was not a former captain for just a mere fluke, no matter what Yoruichi says otherwise.

Suddenly Ichigo dashed at Urahara, narrowing his eyes, Urahara swung his sword at Ichigo who pivoted to the left, seeing with stunned eyes how a nearby rock got cut like butter by the seemingly harmless sword.

"_Harmless sword my ass, and here I thought I was going to think that sword wouldn't do me nothing"_ Ichigo thought with some apprehension as he kept his advance at Urahara, suddenly Ichigo began to swing his damaged swords at Urahara who began to lean on several directions, dodging the wild sweeps and taking small steps back lazily, showing that even after 100 years he had still his old reflexes…

Urahara eyes widened when a small red line on his cheeks was formed, small droplets of blood visible on his eyesight.

"_What the…"_

Jumping away in panic the former captain had done that for one simple reason, the cut had been done by…and invisible force, and damn it hurt!

"_You're having lots of troubles with this brat eh sugar?"_

"_Not now Benihime, he was able to cut me without even me feeling the steel of his swords on my cheek, that's just…"_

"_Wrong, intriguing, fascinating, choose anyone, I know that the attack picked your curiosity, is hard to things pick your curiosity, after all you're not Mayuri who basically rips all that bring curiosity or annoyance to him"_

"_My…you're in a…good mood"_

"_Of course I am…NOW RELEASE ME SO I CAN EXACT MY REVENGE ON THAT PERVERT WHO TOUCHED ME!!!"_

"_You realize that he did it to stand a point and he didn't know that you are a she"_

"_I care a coconut about it, I want his head on a silver plate you hear me A PLATE!!"_

"Bloodthirsty and temperamental as usual" Urahara commented, making Ichigo raise an eyebrow at him, "My zanpakutou that is, she has been…quite angry ever since you touched her" he added, "Well too ba…wait a minute, your zanpakutou is a she!?"

"A very temperamental and proud she…and you made her mad"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at that, by experience he knew that women can be a terrible force when angry (something that all current male rayearths seem to know firsthand) Tatsuki's wrath is something Ichigo rather see and not experience, Karin was another example of female wrath, and his high school teacher, and Rukia…it seems he is doomed to be surrounded with violent women with very strong personalities.

"Is that so?" Ichigo asked with some mirth, "Yes…and she wants your head on a plate" Urahara answered almost bored like, of course the answer of Ichigo killed all boredom of Urahara then.

"Then let her try" for that moment, Urahara let a small, very small smile, there were few shinigami with female zanpakutous, and so far they were very proud and powerful, the thing Ichigo said, in a way is a self-imposed death sentence…

"Awaken, Benihime" and Urahara complied with Ichigo's taunt, after all, only the captain-commander has matched swords with a Rayearth, Urahara wanted…no, desired to test the power that had defeated the most powerful of the shinigami on Seireitei, true, if SHE comes to find out what Urahara did so far to Ichigo…he shudders at the mental image of his bloody, beyond M-rated demise by her hands.

"_And Isshin says she is an angel"_ Urahara thought with annoyance, yeah right, angels to others, the goddamn devil to anyone who she hates.

With that last thought, Urahara flicked his newly released sword, showing it to Ichigo, the hilt was longer, but because two or three inches of it were bended, a crimson tassel hung of the end of the hilt, the crossguard of the sword was replaced by a decorative string that was tied thrice on it with a three loop bow attached to one side and a folded paper decoration on the other side, what seemed a metallic U shaped decoration covered most three or four inches of the blade, with a flower petal design right where the string meet the string crossguard, the blade itself is slim and straight, albeit short compared to its sealed form, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge form, instead of the usual tapered form.

"_So…that's a zanpakutou true form" _Ichigo though as he remembered what the red head Renji said about the names and zanpakutou, _"Their names…if ones learn their zanpakutou names they can release their power"_

"_**You got it ichigito"**_

"_Fira? I thought you were asleep or something"_

"_**And missing this? No way! I see you have Ignis on your hand"**_

"_Ignis, it was not Ignus?"_

"_**Yes and no…apparently when you regained your powers, your soul changed as well, is kinda complex, I guess the best way to describe this is the fact you emerged out of the hole a new man, not the former Ichigo, bearer of Ignus, but another Ichigo, the shinigami Ichigo, bearer of Ignis"**_

"_IT has sense…I guess"_

"_**Well, Ignis is still incomplete, you need to complete your training, that way both swords, your shinigami zanpakutou and Rayearth sword are complete" **_she stated on Ichigo's mind, knowing that Rukia's fate depended on that, along with the fact that the spirit of Urahara's sword wanted him dead, he steeled himself for…

A flash of silver was all Ichigo could see before leaning to his left, the mask that hung of his head, along with a chunk of his hair was cut, blood oozing out of the small wound on his head by the sudden move of Urahara.

"Fast" was all Ichigo said as he saw Urahara advance at him, with a snarl, Ichigo charged at Urahara, who didn't look impressed by this blindly charge of Ichigo.

Ichigo made a sweep upwards with his left sword, trying to cut further Urahara's hat, only to Urahara step back a little, then bring Benihime in a horizontal cut move at Ichigo's midsection, Ichigo blocked it with his right sword, only to see the damaged blade being slightly sliced by Benihime's steel.

"I am impressed you blocked my attack…but that broken zanpakutou is no match to Benihime" with that Urahara applied more pressure, cutting the metal and the tip slightly cutting Ichigo near the ribs, with a yell Ichigo took his distance of Urahara, not clutching his wound because basically it hut more that his sword was cut like nothing that the cut he had on his right side.

"_He cut my zanpakutou like nothing, like if it…if it was…"_

"A toy?" Ichigo eyes widened when he heard Urahara's voice behind him, _"He was in front of me just a second ago"_ in panic Ichigo lashed with his left sword, trying to hit Urahara again on the head, such to see Urahara lean his head backwards, then cutting the sword once known as Ignus completely to the hilt, "Bastard!" Ichigo roared, slightly surprising Urahara for that reaction of Ichigo, nevertheless Urahara was not enough surprised to lower his guard, in another flash Ichigo flared his teeth when he felt Benihime make a swallow cut on his chest, making him take several steps, but not even bothering to clutch the bleeding wound.

"Your zanpakutou…is just a big toy…it has no Reiryoku stuffed in it, is fragile, and is weak…is just big…"

Ichigo brought what was left of his right sword at Urahara, just to see it being cut in half like nothing by Urahara in a flash, "Now…there is no blade, just a hilt…still you can knock my hat off, is not impossible" Urahara began, "But I must warn you…if you dare to do so…to face me with that toy…" red energy began to surround Urahara, giving him an ominous feeling to anyone watching, "I will kill you"

That warning might had send anyone facing Urahara running away in sheer fear…but he forgot this little detail, no Rayearth so far has run away of battle, and Ichigo is the kind of guy that simply charges forward with the proper incentive…this one being Rukia's welfare, so Urahara didn't saw coming the right hook that was slammed to his ribs until the pain spiked in on his brain.

"_Oh…you wanna play that way…is on!" _with a flick of his wrist, Urahara made another swallow cut on Ichigo's torso, blood pouring out, but that didn't stopped Ichigo who simply roared as he charged at Urahara.

"_I can't stop…mustn't stop!"_

Ichigo received yet another cut on his body, this one on his right thigh, but that wasn't enough to stop him, he answered that cut by slamming the left hilt butt to Urahara's cheek, yet that wasn't enough to take his hat off.

"_Is my fault she is about to die"_

With a kick on the stomach, Urahara launched Ichigo to a nearby rock, shattering on impact, but Urahara had to dodge when several fireballs came sailing of the debris aimed at him, dodging again, Urahara cursed the moment he forgot that Ichigo can manipulate fire in the same fashion Yamamoto's zanpakutou can.

"_I gotta help her…is my duty…I have to…"_

Urahara suddenly launched himself at Ichigo, catching the teenager by surprise, Urahara chokeslam him to a nearby rock wall, creating a small crater, then he aimed Benihime to stab Ichigo on the face, only to stop when suddenly his whole arm was stopped by an unknown force, inches away of Ichigo's face, then without any warning, Urahara was launched to the sky, landing gracefully a second later, a frown on his face, the myth of the Rayearth telekinetic abilities was true.

"_She…she changed my life…she…gave me a reason to fight…she…she…made me see my resolve"_

"_What are you doing?"_

Ichigo suddenly stopped, his back at Urahara's, to anyone seeing it was the calm before the storm, but Urahara knew best…Ichigo had finally contacted his zanpakutou spirit.

"…_Old man" _Ichigo said in his mind, the image of the old man right in front of him, a grey background, and no wind whatsoever to make his clothes or hair move.

"_You have not called me yet" _he began, _"You should hear it now…now that the worthless fear that covered your ears is no more"_

"Oi…they stopped" Jinta said, oblivious to what was happening, Urahara had also stopped, he was just waiting, but that didn't meant he was not going to be ready for anything Ichigo might be planning with his zanpakutou spirit.

"_The enemy is one; you are one…what there is to fear?"_

"_**Nothing"**_

"_Cast off your fear"_

"_**It hampers you"**_

Ichigo brought both hilts to him.

"_Look forward!"_

"_**The path is clear"**_

A ring of dust suddenly formed around Ichigo.

"_Go forward"_

"_**Remove all obstacles"**_

Urahara prepared himself to rush at Ichigo.

"_Never stand still"_

"_**Be proactive"**_

Suddenly Ichigo could see the old man clearly, Fira in her human form right at his side.

"_Retreat and you will age"_

"_**Retreat is for cowards"**_

"_Hesitate and you will die"_

"_**Hesitate and all you love will die"**_

Urahara rushed to Ichigo.

"_Shout! My name is…"_

"Zangetsu!!" Ichigo roared as he swung both hilts to Urahara, a massive amount of Reiryoku was suddenly released in a single flash, almost touching Urahara, leveling a good portion of what was behind him.

As the smoke and light dissipated, Urahara could see the kneeling form of Ichigo, in the right hand he held what seemed a massive elegant looking cleaver, almost as high as Ichigo, no crossguard of hilt visible, only the cloth-covered tang that acted as a hilt, the blade was black with a silver edge, what surprised all however was the other sword in Ichigo's left hand, equal in form, the cleaver on Ichigo's left hand differences was the black cloth around the tang, the red blade with a pure white edge, unlike the silver one on the one of Ichigo's right hand, beyond that, it was similar in height and proportions.

"The hell…that thing is no sword…it doesn't has a guard or a hilt…hell the other one was far better than this one" Jinta mentioned, of course he didn't saw the shocked look or Tessai, he would soon learn why, especially when he saw the other sword on Ichigo's hand, "The hell? Another one? That's just…wrong"

"My, my, you made contact with the spirit of your sword, good, good" Urahara began, eyeing both cleavers, a very unusual form, but nothing compared to the almost endless forms all zanpakutous released forms acquire, "Now we can truly start lesson three"

"I'm sorry…Urahara-san" so said man raised an eyebrow when Ichigo said that, and more when he saw the red cleaver emanate energy that slowly traveled trough Ichigo's arm, "Please be sure to dodge"

"Excuse me?" Urahara said, his answer came when he saw the energy pass Ichigo's chest, then to the other arm…just to see the remnants of Tessai's level 99 Kido be completely blasted away and burned as Ichigo rose Zangetsu, "I don't know if I can hold it!"

"Call out, Benihime!"

Then the world went white as a lone hat flew away onto the wind.

Urahara observed the area, Benihime's blade was smoking, just a chunk of a transparent shield floating near his head, "If…I didn't have this Chikasumi no Tate…then I would have died" he said as he observed his hat fly to him, landing on the ground, "Oh my…you killed my hat" he said as he dusted what was left of his cut and burned hat, placing it then on his head, then seeing the kneeling Ichigo, holding his weight with Zangetsu, the other sword was still on the ground, then suddenly vanished in a flash of light and flames.

"My…what an interestingly frightening child you are…Kurosaki-san…" Urahara said, sealing Benihime back, albeit with protests of her part, apparently while she wanted Ichigo dead, she wanted something else of the male spirit of Ichigo's zanpakutou…or better said ride him like a bronco.

"Hm…lesson three clear" he said, seeing the huge gash on the ground that was completely glassed, ground and rocks were now glass, just three inches at his right side.

* * *

Seireitei is perhaps a place of mystery to the souls living in Rukongai, no soul there can enter…unless they are shinigami material, a blessing to escape the harsh life outside the walls of Seireitei, but right now, living in 'the court of pure souls' seems to be a very bad idea if you take in consideration one little fact.

Kuchiki Byakuya had made the monumental mistake of telling during the meeting of captains which was to dictate sentence to Rukia about Ichigo and the 'odd white glove with a red crystal' he had prior to his so far, quickest defeat ever, and perhaps the most humiliating of them all in his career as captain.

The reaction was not something all expected of the patient, powerful and venerable captain-commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

"YOU DID WHAT!?"

He snapped.

* * *

_He-he, didn't expected the outburst on that last one did ya? i know i'm bad for making a clifhanger here when you all want to hear the verbal beratement Yamamoto will issue to Byakuya for what he did, who doesn't want to, is like watching a train wreck, you can't look the other way, well enough talk, let me give you all the preview of next chapter, enjoy and review._

_

* * *

_

**A past that he hates...**

"I hope you understand your mission"

**A history he rathers not remember...**

"Go to the world of the living"

**The present matters little to him now...**

"Ignore hollows completely, track the rayearth, find if he is alive"

**He wants to destroy his shameful past...**

"Find him and his family...and kill them"

**In the next chapter of rayearth knights: ichigo the inferno...Assasin...**

"Go...do not fail me...Unohana-taichou"

**The elegance is stained...**

**

* * *

**

_there you have it people, until a next time, Hypn0s signs off, review and read, i know you'll do the first in spades._


	4. 3: Assassin

_Hello my friends, Merry Christmas, i hope you got all you wanted this year, love, clothes, games whatever, i hope you enjoyed the day, now your friend Hynp0s gives you my equivalent of a gift here in fanfiction, another chapter, a little controvertial considering who will be in it, and yes i have recieved several reviews actually wondering if i'm doing it, yeah baby I am, we love her, she's the perfect mixture of a cute girl or the perfect housewife, and also can break you with a glance and no need to pull her nodachi and chop you to ribbons, she ain't a vasto lorde, but soul society dreads the day she gets angry, and i'm proud to say that perhaps, just perhaps, i'll be one of the few daring enough to put her on a fight and actually fight, Retsu Unohana is going to fight in this chapter, I know I know why to spoil the fun when you can read it, now without any delay i give you all the next chapter of the rayearth knights: ichigo the inferno._

_enjoy!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: ASSASSIN**

It had been perhaps the most adrenaline rush, blood pumping experience he has pass so far, he was so close to death that it had made his adrenaline rush like never, true he was slightly holding up, but yet again that little mistake almost cost him his life, but in the end it was worth it, not only Ichigo released his zanpakutou, learned an attack and oh who can forget the magnificent hollow mask he has now, but doesn't know how to use, he had to take a mental note to talk with Shinji and ask him to train Ichigo to control his inner hollow, Urahara had no idea how to accomplish that deed, only hybrids knew the procedure to accomplish that end.

As Urahara entered his small living room, he blinked several times at the presence of the person on the room, "Shinji?"

Urahara expected anyone on his room, including the exotic beauty that is Yoruichi on her REAL form, hell he could expect the sadistic Kenpachi be sit on the living room considering that his lack of direction is as legendary as his bloodlust and thirst for battle, but Shinji?

"Oh, Urahara-san, I see you are surprised as me" the grinding blond replied as he showed his frontal teeth with that grin of his, "Yeah…so…did Hiyori-Chan damage the training grounds again and it needs my expertise to be repaired again?" Urahara questioned the former captain.

"Hardly…has she seemed to take thing lightly these days…I think" Shinji replied with a roll of his eyes, "Oh…problems on paradise?"

"If your definition of paradise is getting slapped by her sandals daily then no, I am fine…somehow I have managed to survive 100 years worth of abuse by her"

"Well you are a former captain for a reason"

"That part of my life is behind me Kisuke…just as the lives of the others, I hate to admit it, but in the eyes of Soul Society we are dead, and we better remain that way, now mind telling me why you called me?" Shinji asked, "Called you? I thought you came to talk with me on your own?"

"**So naïve…you two" **both former captains tensed up when they heard the melodious, yet almost taunting and powerful voice of a woman, "Yoruichi?" Urahara called…

**BAMM!!!**

"OUCH!!"

Only to clutch his head in pain when an ivory hand slapped the back of his head, hard, when Urahara looked at the source of his pain, he got eye wide, along with Shinji when they lay eyes on a beauty in all the sense of the word, the fact that her 'clothes' did little to cover her assets and did more to accentuate them didn't help at all with their very repressed libido.

But it was then when Urahara noticed the way the woman's eyes shined, like fire dancing on her pupils, it didn't took him less than a second to realize who she was, "Fira…guardian of fire"

"Fira? THE Fira? Mighty guardian of fire of Crystalia?" Shinji asked in slight shock, **"Don't forget party monster and social drinker my rejected hybrid"**

Shinji resented that last comment of her, **"Oh don't act hurt Shinji…you know I am right on that part…but let's keep that to another time shall we?" **she said as she seated in front of both men, arms crossed and staring at them, **"I'll be honest with you two, I need your help…and you will provide it"**

"As long it doesn't involve Soul Society…" Shinji began, **"Wrong…it involves Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, the world of the living and countless worlds and universes, honestly I care little for whatever grudge you all carry for the court of pure souls for your exile and don't try to deny it, you know I am right, you held resentment, resentment for the place that betray you…and the man they held in high regard"**

"Aizen…" Shinji and Urahara said at the same time, **"Good, you remember him, and I hope you remember the little toy bucket head here used on you and the others" **Shinji nodded, **"Well, displaying a great deal of stupidity"**

"HEY!" Urahara argued, **"He placed that toy on a special Gigai and gave it to Rukia Kuchiki, bonding it to her spiritual body, and now she is in Soul Society, at the grasp of our dear esteemed megalomaniac"**

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Shinji snapped at Urahara, "You know that I had to do it Shinji, I couldn't keep it safe anymore, especially with all the heat Ichigo brought upon Karakura town after he wounded that Gillian, sooner or later Aizen would have come here to cut loose ends" Urahara snapped.

"I can't believe it…you put that thing…on that girl!?"

"**Yes…and now the pendulum moves again" **Fira said, making both blonds stare at her, **"Events that were meant to occur have changed, ichigito was suppose to be scared of Urahara on training, yet he faced him straight forward, a hollow mask was formed…a black and white mask"**

"A Vizard? Urahara dammit stop making hybrids!" Shinji snapped, "And what you suggested to help him regain his powers eh? Another shinigami giving him their power?"

"**We are not here to discuss how many hybrids are now, but what to do now, the inner hollow created during the hollowfication process didn't came to be because of the nemesis, but it will came to be soon, Yamamoto-Sotaichou is mad, very mad, Byakuya Kuchiki just messed up saying he faced Ichigo and told him about the glove on his left hand, the old goat hates the Rayearth knights for the humiliation that the Rayearth of wind brought upon him 300 years ago during the Lord wars, soon that anger will be brought to bear tomorrow at night…elegance will be stained with the brutality of assassination and deception"** Fira said, **"Not only that, people will be caught in the crossfire…all just for a 300 years old grudge"**

"…He has a knack to keep grudges, even useless ones to a new level, yet what I want to know is what do you want with us?" Urahara asked, **"You have done enough, just focus on training Ichigo and making that damn gate to Soul Society, but I want him free tomorrow, in his home with his family"**

"They are on vacation" Urahara said, remembering what Ichigo said to him before they engaged the training, **"Well…their transport to the beaches suffered…a little…problem in the engine…is amazing what a hundred thousand degrees can do to an engine these days" **Fira said with a smirk.

"Why you did that?" Shinji asked with a raised eyebrow, **"Simple…I want to Isshin Kurosaki to speak the truth, to Karin and Yuzu to know what they can do…I want Ichigo to test blades with our little assassin, that way he will be ready to what awaits him really beyond the walls of Seireitei, besides, having allies beforehand never hurts, right?" **Shinji shook his head.

"I do wonder" Urahara began, "How do you know all this" Fira smirked at his question, **"Simple, unlike you two…I have a friend who sees time as a parade…that and we got to make sure to tie all loose ends before ichigito has to leave" **Shinji rose an eyebrow at that, "Leave? Where?"

"**Where else dummy?" **Fira taunted with a smile, **"To where all rayearths go…to Crystalia"**

* * *

All was chaos, all was mayhem, the biggest shit ever was about to hit the biggest fan ever.

And they had Byakuya to pin the blame on!

No one, ever had seen Yamamoto-sotaichou so worked up in their long and hectic lives, the fact that not even his former students, Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushirou Ukitake had never seen him angry was enough said that the subject of the Rayearth knights was something that from now on would become taboo, that is unless you didn't mind to die a horrible death in the hands of Yamamoto and his Bankai, which seemed to be the fate of Byakuya if some sort of miracle didn't happened now to save his ass.

"Yamamoto-sotaichou if I may" that miracle came of course of the second oldest captain on the Gotei 13, Retsu Unohana, "Your outburst, while surprising must have a reason to be sotaichou, Kuchiki-taichou didn't knew who he was truly facing, nor the reaction you would take upon the news" she began, "Your point being?" Yamamoto hissed.

"You're overreacting sotaichou" Aizen Sosuke replied with a slight smile.

"I. AM .NOT overreacting Aizen, you don't know the power those monsters have, they are a menace and bring only but chaos" Yamamoto said, "If the legend is accurate, the Rayearth knights are bringers of balance in Crystalia, if Crystalia is on balance so the rest of the universe" Aizen said as he rubbed his chin, "Monsters that what they are! Abominations of close beings to gods, no living being should have that power" Yamamoto said.

"_Comes of the guy who can cook Seireitei alone that's kinda hypocrite" _all the captains thought at the same time, "Yet I don't see what's the hassle with this Rayearth, the guy's weak" Kenpachi sneered, "Keep telling yourself those lies Zaraki, the rayearths are forces of nature, disasters with two legs and a sword, they grow stronger at an exponential rate, in less than a week he will be able to fight you on equal grounds if given the chance" that part brought a smile to Kenpachi's face.

"And no, you will not fight him; we will kill him before it can grow stronger and no Mayuri you will not have his body on a dissection table because I will vaporize him"

"Oh come on old man, you can't do that!" Kenpachi and Mayuri argued at the same time, "Rukia Kuchiki will be his motive to come here; I will not allow that monster to even take a step into Rukongai, let alone Seireitei!" Yamamoto voice boomed all over the captains room meeting, "Spoil sport" was all Kenpachi muttered as he accepted the orders, he wanted to battle yes, but he was a captain, and he had to follow orders, no matter how much he hated them, Mayuri did as told, but prepared himself in case he came to face such…rare specimen.

"So…you plan to kill him…if he isn't dead by the wounds our esteemed Kuchiki-taichou made to him?" Gin said with that fox like grin on his face, "Yes, and not only him…now the meeting is adjourned, all but Unohana-taichou can leave" Yamamoto ordered, not needed to be said twice the captains began to leave the hall, leaving Yamamoto alone with Unohana.

"…I got a mission to you Unohana-taichou" Yamamoto began, "You are to go to the world of the living, locate the Rayearth that lives there…and kill it"

"…A little extreme measure if you ask me Yamamoto-sotaichou" Unohana answered softly, "It is not, he is a profanity to our laws and life itself, a human made shinigami, and a Rayearth to add, he is a monstrosity that must die"

"We were humans once too sotaichou, I wouldn't be surprised if a resident of Rukongai was a Rayearth in their past lives" she replied again softly, "Don't temp my patience Unohana, you better than anyone knows who did me these wounds" he said as he pointed the X scar on his head, "You know better than anyone else how powerful they are, you were present that day"

"I know, but I must remind you those circumstances that day provoked the ire of the Rayearth Yamamoto-sotaichou"

"She tried to turn a hollow into a plus! Is a crime itself!"

"Here it is true, but on Crystalia there is not such a law that prevented her to do so"

"I had to do what we are meant to do"

"And you provoked something that none of us was ready to face" she said sternly, "I still bear the scar of that battle, albeit hidden under my clothes, we survived because she was willing to hear me and understood the why we kill that hollow, after that she left us alone…not before she let you that scar"

"Enough!" he boomed to Unohana, a powerful reiatsu washed all over the room, but Unohana seemed unaffected by it, "You and I are the only shinigami on Seireitei that are invulnerable to reiatsu, even the one of the king, that and the knowledge that we are just grains in the ocean that is the universe was the only thing worth the problems we passed the day we angered the Rayearth of wind" Unohana said simply, her sight focused solely on the man in front of her.

"(Grunt) I repeat my orders, you are to go to the world of the living, immediately, track and kill the Rayearth residing there…and his family" he said, "Excuse me?"

"Their power can be shared between familiars"

"Only the guardians can grant powers of such kind"

"I will not take such chances"

"You just want to take revenge for something that happened 300 years ago and against someone who had nothing to do with it" Yamamoto stared at Unohana with a narrowed gaze, he knew that only she could match him in power and skill, she was not as old as him, but he knew that she was an opponent to be wary off if angered, which happened very little times.

"…I will do as so…but I officially state this mission as an error and the worse idea ever"

"Duly noted, carry on Unohana-taichou" with a sigh, the captain of the 4th division walked away of the meeting hall, leaving the captain-commander to his thoughts, not noticing how he rubbed his X scar as he glared at nothingness.

"…Soon…"

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes fast, darting around; he spotted the room, much to his surprise he was on his room, "The hell I'm doing here?"

"_**Urahara and Tessai brought you here" **_Fira answered on his mind, "Why?" he spoke out loud, since his dad and sisters were out on the beach for the week, there was no problem if he talked to Fira out loud without people thinking he was crazy.

"_**They believed you needed to bond with your family for the time being"**_

"My family is on the beach Fira" Ichigo answered, _**"Is that so?" **_she answered in a taunting manner, making Ichigo narrow his eyes, "Ichi-nii!" Ichigo eyes then widened when he heard the-oh so familiar voice of Yuzu from the other side of the door.

Blinking in surprise, Ichigo saw his sister open his door, the sweetest of the Kurosaki siblings some say, he believes otherwise, because she is basically the pillar in which the family holds itself, she cooks and keeps, in her own special way, the family to fall down, she had been that way…ever since their mother died.

"_**I know you'll hate me for this, but your mom did what it was right, is a mom's duty to basically sacrifice herself, not only in life, but in time, dedication, health, each time a mother gives birth they run the risk of dying, a life for a life some say is a fair trade, so don't kick yourself for it ichigito, one day you'll be a father and you'll understand what sacrifice something for a son is, besides the bastard that killed your mother is still out there…and I know your itching to burn him to the marrow of his mask so badly that not even the gates of hell come to pick his ashes"**_

Ichigo knew that Fira was right, he wanted, no, desired to burn, maul, rip, brutalize and overall kill in the most brutal way possible at the hollow that took his mother away, Great Fisher.

"Yuzu…what are you doing here? I thought you, Karin and pops would be on the beach for the week" Ichigo mentioned, there Yuzu pouted cutely, he hates to admit it, but Yuzu, unlike Karin, has more 'cute appeal' that Karin, maybe because Karin hits him and Yuzu don't.

"I don't know Ichi-nii" she began, "But every time we boarded a bus to the beach the engine…burned up" Ichigo rose and eyebrow at that, "Burned?" Ichigo questioned, "More like melted" he heard Karin mention as she entered his room, arms behind her head, "Fifteen buses, we boarded, fifteen buses and their engines melted like if they were dipped in acid…or were made of butter and exposed to heat" Karin mentioned, making Ichigo furrow his eyebrow.

"_Fira…"_

"_**Yes ichigito?"**_

"_Please tell me you didn't had anything to do with what my sisters are telling me"_

"_**Okay I won't…oh who I'm kidding I did it okay"**_

Karin and Yuzu suddenly felt a rise on the temperature, it was normal since it was summer, but they felt rather…intimidated because Ichigo had his everlasting scowl™ on full power, that and the odd red tint his eyes gained didn't help either.

"_Fira…WHY!?"_

"_**You'll thank me by the end of the day; you're going to go to save your imp girlfriend…"**_

"_SHE AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND"_

"_**You say knife I say kunai, is the same thing, in any case, you have to…bond with your family…you don't know if you will return back safely…"**_

"_I will return safely…I don't…I won't make them cry again"_

"_**Your sisters?"**_

"_Yeah…they were devastated when mom died…I don't want to do that to them again"_

"_**Oh such a big, golden heart engulfed in flames and hidden in a scowl and cold façade, I knew you were not an asshole"**_

"_Excuse me!?"_

Yuzu and Karin still waited to continue speak with Ichigo, the temperature had returned to the normal environmental level, but now both girls felt…odd, like a tingling sensation on their bodies, tickles…on an ant size level, all over their bodies.

"_**Well I am doing you a favor, trust me on this, there is this kid, he is also a Rayearth, he totally, beyond any doubt, hates…what he refers to as oh yeah 'emo stuck up assholes who have…'"**_

"_I understand the concept Fira…wait a minute…more rayearths?"_

"_**Duh! Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, the four main elements which the universe itself is formed, minors elements like lighting, ice, lava and crystal are part of the control of the Rayearth knights"**_

"…_Since when crystal is an element"_

"_**Since the queen displayed the ability to basically made crystal spikes come out of the ground and induce crystal enemas on her opponents"**_

"_That's just…wrong"_ Ichigo thought as he slowly calmed himself, unknown to him, letting also his already impressive and overall ridiculously big reiatsu stop pouring out of him and all around him, (no one had the delicacy to tell him that it was he and his monstrous spiritual power that caused Orihime, Chad and Kami knows how many more teens of his class to develop powers) finally noticing that his sisters were worried by his sudden scowl appearance.

"So…you didn't get to see the beach eh?" Yuzu shook her head with a pout, while Karin rolled her eyes, but it was obvious she was annoyed by not going to the beach, "(Sigh) I know I will regret this later…but…do you want ice cream? My treat"

He was right on that part.

* * *

"This is the worse idea ever" Hiyori said to Shinji, not because she was pulled of her training to enhance her already long time using her mask, not because she was with Shinji, it was because she was dress as a little girl, as a little goddamn girl, dammit she is over 100 years old, she should be clad in provocative clothes, man turning to stare at her in desire, not kids trying to poke her fun because of her piggy tails and teeth dammit!

While the baggy beige shorts, red sport shirt and sandals was in her opinion too girly (the shirt had a chibi dog stamped in it) she had to enjoy something, and that something was ice cream, by far the best invention (besides TV and violent TV and movie shows she says) why she had waited so far to taste it, all is fault of Soul Society and laying low, Seireitei knew they, as them enjoyed an extended longevity, so laying low for five years wouldn't cut it, they needed to lay low at least fifty years until Soul Society decided to focus on other matters, like hollows, yet they had enjoyed 100 years of human advances and commodities, she would trade a single futon and sleeping on the floor on winter for a warm bed, a heater and chocolate with marshmallows any time.

"Now Hiyori relax, this is a favor…" Shinji began, enjoying his own ice cream, "Favor? Anyone that owes you favors is dead, or in Soul Society…oh that bastard Urahara!" she snapped, "Language Hiyori-chan, we are undercover"

"Undercover? No one besides that freak Urahara knows who we really are" she hissed at Shinji, "You're wrong" he said seriously, "Suddenly we are deep knee in something far bigger than laying low and seeking revenge against Aizen" he began, "And what that might be?" she asked.

"How about the fate of the known universe resting on the shoulders of three super-powered teens selected by superior forces than the king of Soul Society or I should say Queen of Soul Society, who can kick Aizen's ass, Yamamoto's ass and basically butcher Hueco Mundo hollow population alone" the moment he turned to see Hiyori's reaction, he smiled, the poor girl was petrified, stupefied, and overall stunned, "Oh yeah…I still got it" he said, referring to his ability to still shock the poor girl even after 100 years of hanging out together.

"Y-you don't m-mean…"

"Yes…the Rayearth knights" he sighed in slight annoyance, Hiyori was perhaps in their group and overall in all Seireitei (with perhaps the exception of Unohana) the only spirit who firmly believed and knew that Crystalia, the knights and the legend about the creation of the worlds and the many stories that followed and involved crystalian people and off-wolders, she knew all stories by the heart, she always told them to them when she was bored…and when Mashiro went to bed, it was the only way to calm the hyper Mashiro enough to sleep.

"T-there is a Rayearth around?" she asked hopefully, gone was brash and angry Hiyori, replaced by a more childish version of her, "Yes…and I met Fira OUCH!!" Shinji regretted saying that, Hiyori had kicked him on the shin, hard, "You met Fira, you bastard you are not even worth of even knowing the tales and you met her!? I'm going to pull your brain out from your ass for that insult!"

"Now relax Hiyori, I know you wanted to meet them of course, but we have important things to do, like for example keeping an eye to the current Rayearth of fire" he said as he pointed to four people, she saw as usual that guy, Isshin, the husband of Masaki…she still has a hard time to admit who he REALLY is, then his daughters, while both girls were her height, much to her annoyance, she could see that the one with dark hair and a cap had more attitude, like her, then she noticed the eldest of Masaki and Isshin…and the white ivory glove on his left hand with a crystal in it, she almost had a seizure after seeing that, to anyone looking at it, it would look like a normal glove with a fancy decoration, but she knew better, it was the symbol itself of a Rayearth knight, she turned to Shinji to see if he was the one who they needed to protect, he nodded, but of coursed something bothered her.

"Protect him of who?"

"(Sigh) protect him of that" he said, now pointing to a spot near the trees of the park, following his finger, Hiyori eyes widened when she saw who they had to protect they Rayearth off.

Unohana Retsu, second oldest captain in activity of the Gotei 13, "Retsu? What the hell she is doing here?" Hiyori whispered, eyes focusing on the captain who remained calm and composed as she kept watch of Ichigo and his family.

"Fira told us that Yamamoto-jiji send her to kill him and his family"

"Say what? She can't do that…I doubt she would do that"

"She is loyal to Yamamoto and stick to the rules Hiyori…as much as you hate to believe it, she will do as told, is her job…as nasty as it seems" Shinji said seriously, "Then what we are waiting for, let's stop her now"

"No…we have to wait…wait a lot" Shinji began, "She doesn't attack because she recognized us, she doesn't know how strong we have become or if we mastered our hollow powers, she will not take such risk, besides Ichigo noticed her as well…can't you feel it?" Hiyori nodded of course, who wouldn't, the temperature around the park had increased, so much was the increase that her ice cream…hell the ice creams of many kids were melted or going to, "He is tense as a mouse trap, one false move of Unohana and you can kiss this park goodbye" Shinji said, "WE will keep track of Ichigo, apparently Fira orchestrated all this so Ichigo would spend time with his family, intentionally putting them on the line of fire"

"Why?" Hiyori asked, at is best it was the worse idea ever, alone perhaps Ichigo had chances to fence Unohana off, but with people, his family on the line of fire, things got complicated, very much, "Twofold, if Ichigo hung alone then his family would be unprotected, Unohana would have make her move on them, with Ichigo around one would believe she would attack, but she ain't a captain for naught, she is smart, clever, she knows that now is the worse time, even more considering that Ichigo is basically flaring a 'back off or I'll maul you' sign, she will bide her time" Shinji began.

"Second…Fira wants Isshin to come clean"

* * *

"Is the worse idea ever" Unohana mussed softly as she saw the former captain and lieutenant hang around Ichigo and his family, like a pair of shadows, seen but not taking into account, well now at least she had an idea where they had been for the past 100 years, maybe with some luck the others would be around, but while the order of taking them down still stood after 100 years, they weren't her targets, it was the Rayearth and his family.

She hated the idea of doing such a thing, like killing to a pair of innocent kids like the sisters of the Rayearth, the father looked familiar to her, but she couldn't place his face in her memory, but she knew that she knew him once, then he noticed the Rayearth, her eyes slightly widened when she felt the amount or Reiryoku he had, it was unnatural, especially for a human such as him, she bets that he somehow regained his shinigami powers.

While the process to regain such powers was painful at is best, it also meant that he had powers inside him, powers Byakuya had failed to see because he was focused on destroying the powers his sister had given to him, she saw the glove of the Rayearth, the red crystal meant that he was the Rayearth of fire, now that explained the wounds of Renji and Byakuya, to a level.

It was obvious he had less than a week of experience with his Rayearth powers, some might think it is a good thing, but it isn't, rayearths have the nasty little habit of mastering their elemental powers in less time that you would expect, their telekinesis and weapons, in less than a month they become powerful enough to defy a captain in combat, right now she bets he is on the level to fight against all but captains of the Gotei 13…in a way, most of them don't have Bankai, which is the ace in the hole for most captains, and truth to be told, while she doesn't has the limiter other shinigami or lieutenant and captain level have upon entering the world of the living, she is still bidding her time, there were many unknown factors that would hamper her objective.

The eight exiled shinigami to start with, Urahara, not knowing if the Rayearth recovered his shinigami powers, how much of his Rayearth powers he had mastered and perhaps a hollow distracting her in the worse moment.

Any chaotic eventuality that might cause her to fail her mission and might kill her needed to be considered, she would bide her time, she is patient, she needed to in her line of work, but she knew that every second that passed observing her targets made her rethink her objective.

She hated when she had to go against what she believed, but she is a soldier, and soldiers follow orders, no matter how nasty they are.

She just hoped they would forgive her for what she would do.

_**Night…**_

"And he was like whom and she was like whoa" Karin said as she made all kind of sounds, making Ichigo sigh and slightly have a mental twitch as his dad did the same as Karin, _"Dear god it spreads"_

But he knew, deep in his heart and mind, that these moments, with his family, together, happy, were rare, especially with his already hectic life, Fira was right, in any moment anything could happen, and that would make both girls cry again, make his dad sad again, he didn't want that, not again, not after that day, he didn't wanted to that to happen again, never again.

"Although I was worried" Yuzu said, "Worried about what? We saw a movie" Ichigo said, "Yes…well…I saw this strange lady with a sword following us" that made Ichigo go eye wide as he started at Yuzu in shock.

"_That…can't be…she has only seen the spirits outlines, nothing else, only me and Karin have seen pluses and hollows completely, how that…Fira?"_

"_**Let me guess your question, Did you had anything to do? Yes…partly, apparently no one told you this before, so let me tell you this, your Reiryoku is basically on a permanent 'on' mode, you can't control it and you can't turn it off to feel others presence, you leak it like a damn waterfall, as a result you affect people around you, spiritual aware people feel a sudden pike on their strength, non-spiritual aware people being to develop powers, like Orihime's fairies or Chad's little arm, this of course got worse now that you are a Rayearth"**_

"_Excuse me!!?"_

"_**You are excused…every time you feel frustrated, angry or in combat you let heat out of your body as means to represent your anger or discomfort, now that is acting as a medium to travel even more to other people, of course now the range of this is limited greatly, before you would have affected the whole school with such power, but now is limited to perhaps your classroom size"**_

"…_oh dear Kami…and I…"_

"_**Listen, right now you added more power to the one your sisters had, to people who previously didn't had no spiritual power it will take a lot of time to develop, besides it affects more people you know, you cherish, for example Orihime, if you were to let your power around her, her own powers would grow slightly, not much, but enough to fit her current level of power, it works the same on shinigami, Quincy and hollows with a certain range of sentiency, and when I mean that I mean as they act, think and talk like a civilized being and not like a mindless cannibalizing monster" **_

"_Oh dear…the woman…the shinigami they saw her, my sisters saw her"_

"_**Well yes, Yuzu seems fascinated by it, but Karin doesn't seem to care"**_

"_She can see spirits like me she is not surpri…"_

Ichigo eyes slightly widened when he felt a considerable amount of reiatsu crash over him, turning to his family, he saw with horror how they were also affected by it, especially his sisters who were pale and rooted on the spot.

Turning around again, he saw that same woman he saw around, that shinigami, slowly making her way to them, the only difference between Rukia and the other two shinigami that had attacked was that she wore a white haori over her black robes, her face was the embodiment of elegance, but he could see she was…sad, bitter for something.

"Forgive me" she began, her voice gentle, yet carried bitterness in it, "But is my duty to do this" she said, slowly reaching for her sword, Ichigo tensed up, eyes wide in fear, not for him, but for his family, _"Dammit, I don't have a way to separate myself of my body!"_

"_**Yes you have ichigito"**_

"_I do?"_

"_**Yes, quickly press your gloved hand on your chest, like pushing something out, trust me it will work" **_doing as told, and noticing that he could move his body well, something that the woman noticed as well, unsheathing the Nodachi, she blurred at Ichigo…

**CLANG!!!**

Only to her sword to be deflected by a pair of massive cleavers that stopped her own dead on her tracks, the woman simply stared at Ichigo, not even showing rage or something else, she was calm, collected, it was…by far worse than the other guy, Byakuya, and that was saying much.

"Kuchiki-taichou said he destroyed your zanpakutou and your shinigami powers" she mentioned, "Yeah…but I won't remain idle as I know that a friend is judged for a stupid rule"

"Rules are made to keep balance" she added, "And how about rules that simply are too stupid and don't consider the bigger picture and any eventuality!" Ichigo snapped, pushing the shinigami away, Ignis and Zangetsu gleaming by the lights of the light posts, "Old man! Take the girls away now!" Ichigo commanded, turning to his family, seeing how Yuzu and Karin stared at him in pure shock, in less than a second, Isshin held both of his daughters and the empty body of his son away, running as fast as he could, away of the ensuring battle.

"Remarkable" the woman said, "Rukia-san said some things about you that are quite to take in consideration" the woman began, "You have an overwhelming Reiryoku, even more than any other lieutenant, you wounded gravely a Gillian, even deflecting a Cero fired at you with a Zanpakutou that had almost no spiritual power forged in it, you wounded a lieutenant and survived a captain, and as I see it you recovered your shinigami powers, perhaps with more power than before" she said, the serene yet grim look on her face never leaving.

"Yet…it changes nothing" she said, "Who are you? What do you want!?" Ichigo demanded, "Courtesy demands you give me your name so I can give you mine, as for my intentions…I have to kill you…and your family…as I said it is not personal, it is my mission"

"Bullshit! You think I'm going to leave you hurt my family!?"

"No, I know you will give your life for them" she said, slowly raising her zanpakutou, for a minute Ichigo stared at the woman, then he rose Zangetsu and Ignis, "…Ichigo Kurosaki"

"…Retsu Unohana" she declared.

Suddenly both shot at each other, Ichigo began to swing Ignis at Retsu, she simply parried each hit with ease, after she parried a vertical swing, Retsu saw an opening on Ichigo's guard, in a blink she poised her zanpakutou to stab Ichigo's flank, only to blink when she saw Zangetsu blocking her own zanpakutou, "You're not passing me!" Ichigo roared, using Zangetsu and pushing Unohana away, Unohana took three steps back then stopped, with a sigh she raised her free arm, two fingers aimed at Ichigo, "Way of destruction #4: Byakurai" she said, suddenly a white bolt came out of her fingers, much to her surprise Ichigo mimicked her movements, but not her words.

"Telum Incendia (bolt of fire)" much to her shock, a red concentrated flame bolt came out of Ichigo's fingers, traveling at the same speed that her white bolt.

**BOOM!!**

Unohana studied the situation during that little break, he was able to make a bastardized version of a Kido spell, well not as bastardized if you see it in his view, it might be a Rayearth ability, and he just mimicked her movements to give it some extra push, he could defend himself on sword combat, he was adept with both huge swords, he had enough reiatsu to hold himself against her, and somehow flaring her reiatsu did little to stop him, let alone scare him, he knew no demonic art, which was good to her, and apparently he didn't knew another arts of the shinigami, like shunpo, that gave her the tactical advantage, her disadvantage radiated in the fact he was the Rayearth of fire, and he was not going down with just three stabs like in his last confrontation with Kuchiki Byakuya, he was going to endure and endure until he either died by the wounds she would inflict or he found a way to bypass her defense, both were hard.

She still had the advantage of speed of course, he had to overpower him with speed, with that in mind she suddenly blurred of the sights of Ichigo, who only blinked for a second before letting a hiss of pain as a cut formed on his back, "The hell" then another one formed on his chest, this one deeper than the one on his back, "She…is fast" another cut, this time on his right arm, right near the bicep.

"_**Fast? She has standard speed, although I admit she is good, but she is slow on captain standards" **_Fira commented, feeling the next cut too near the left hand, cutting the forearm, _**"Focus ichigito, she is fast, but you can predict her movements"**_

"_How?" _another cut, now an X formed on the back of Ichigo, _**"Every being in this world, humans, pluses, hollows, shinigami, Quincy, they all have fire in them, different in many ways, think of it as their Reiryoku, like a finger impression, unique, focus, maybe you can't feel your opponents spiritual power, but you can feel their fire, that what moves them, what drives them, that you can feel, and in that you can predict their next movement and counter"**_

"_Okay…how I do it"_

"_**Close your eyes…focus…feel your own fire, let it go around you…"**_

Ichigo's mind and senses were overwhelmed by almost hundred feelings, most of them were the same, a warm, yet small flame, like a candle all tucked in the black outlines that he assumed were houses, all flames had human shapes, he could feel three flames, his family, running away as he asked them, huddle together, holding an empty tusk, which he believes is his body, yet he had to wonder why the falme that was his dad was so bright, further he feel the flame of what he can only assume is Urahara, is hidden, tucked inside a shell, waiting to be released, it was huge, it was waiting for the right moment, it was controlled, it was distinctively familiar to what was coming at him, he felt two presences approaching, the odd part was that they felt like a mixture between shinigami and a hollow, good and wrong at the same time, also strong, as big as Urahara's flame, equally controlled, but hidden in a different shell that was so different to the one Urahara had on him.

Then he felt it, he could see the figure of a woman, her figure blinked once then appeared on another place, but he could see something she didn't see, she left a trail, a trail to follow, a trail that can easily be tracked down, he could see the small fluctuations on such trail, when she pivoted to the left and right in small bursts, when she dashed on a straight line, when she swing her right arm along with her zanpakutou, he could also see a fire emanating from the soul slayer, almost like the one he felt on Zangetsu on his hand.

Then he felt her make a turn, now facing his back, zanpakutou poised to stab him, Ichigo let his grip on both of his blades to fade, feeling how the cloth in them brushed on his hands, then without any delay he grabbed both cloths, turned around at an impossible speed, and swung them hard at the approaching Unohana who let a surprised gasp as she moved away of the approaching blades, but the damage was already done, the two tips of the blades nicked her on her right arm, much to her shock both blades dug deep and left twin cuts in her arm easily, jumping away to a nearby roof in case Ichigo decided to retaliate, Unohana checked her own wounds with some consideration.

"_Outstanding, he didn't need to match my reiatsu level so he could pierce my skin, Kenpachi would be more than surprised by this unique ability, I know the Rayearth blades can cut trough anything, even a zanpakutou with the proper strength behind the blow, that red blade is his Rayearth blade, I'm not surprised it cut me, but the other blade is a zanpakutou, does this mean his zanpakutou can do the same that his Rayearth blade? No there is another explanation for it…" _she thought as she brought her left hand and pressed it over her wound, slightly wincing at it.

"_It doesn't hurt as badly as the last wound I got from a Rayearth, but it still hurts a lot…guess speed is out of the question, guess I'll do things like Kenpachi" _with that in mind she jumped off the roof, landing on the street once again and in front of Ichigo.

"Did you know" Unohana began, "That every captain, lieutenants and seated officers that are deployed to the world of the living are required to bear a limiter?" she said, "Limiter?"

"Yes, limiters basically hamper the bearer powers, while a handicap on combat, this allows us to fight without the worry or our reiatsu swarming over the area and affecting living beings…"

"I know that" Ichigo confessed rather hotly, now knowing why Orihime, Chad and Kami knows how many other teens developed spiritual affinities thanks to him and his monstrous spiritual power, "Then you must know that I am a captain" Ichigo involuntarily took step back, Rukia had once told him that captains were the pinnacle of shinigami on combat, combat machines, that and coupled with the fact she might be wearing a limiter kinda pissed Ichigo because she was not combating at her full capacity.

"But for this mission I am not wearing a limiter, Yamamoto-sotaichou deemed it unwise to me to wear it…he knows what rayearths are capable off" she stated, "Oh come on! I'm just a week on the all Rayearth thing and people on Soul Society already know?" Ichigo snapped in annoyance, something Unohana noticed as well with some amusement.

"You can thank Kuchiki-taichou for it, he deemed worth of briefing us of your 'last effort' to stop him and Abarai-fukutaichou, mentioning the glove you acquired in less than a second, this of course didn't bode well to Yamamoto-sotaichou who recognized it immediately as a sign of an active Rayearth" Unohana said, "So what? I haven't done nothing but to slightly burn that stuck up Byakuya and that's all I have done with my powers against shinigami" Ichigo said.

"True, but you don't know this, Yamamoto-sotaichou and I once fought a Rayearth…and lost badly" she said simply, "It was our fault to start with, we didn't knew the kind of power we were facing, we believed that Crystalia and the knights were a myth, a bed time tale, we were proven wrong that day, ever since that defeat, Yamamoto-sotaichou has harbored anger against the Rayearth knights, especially against the knight of wind, the one we fought over 300 years ago"

"300 YEARS!!?"

"Yes, we spirits, shinigami and hollows have a long lifespan, we are fragile true, but far more resilient than any human know, but that's beside the point"

"So…let me get this straight, you are here to kill me because this 'Yamamoto' is angry at a Rayearth that died 300 years ago for kicking his ass?" she nodded slightly, "…THAT'S BULL!!" Ichigo all but roared, Unohana had to jump to a light post when a set of purple, yes purple flames emerged out of Ichigo's mouth, while she had seen a lot of things on her life, and had enough blackmail material to rule all over Seireitei as an all mighty dictator without anyone opposing her out of fear of her exposing their deepest and blackest secrets, seeing purple flames being exhaled out of a fifteen years old kid was a new one to her notebook.

But her surprise turned into horror as she saw the pavement which the street was made turn basically into a mesh of glass and goo, so hot it was that she believed that not even Yamamoto's zanpakutou was able to do such a deed, especially considering that the deed came out of the mouth of an angry teenager with the same powers as her.

Standing on a light post that by some miracle wasn't incinerated by the purple flames that melted the street and turned the pavement into hot glass goo, she saw Ichigo direct a glare at her, "You try to kill me and my family for a STUPID GRUDGE!" for the second time in the night, Unohana was shocked when she saw the left sleeve of her haori and robes catch fire by itself, no way to ignite it whatsoever, faster than Ichigo could follow with his eyes Unohana had ripped the haori and robes sleeve and tossed to the melted street, seeing how the garments vaporized on touch with the hot goo crystal.

"_This is getting out of hand, those purple flames are obviously lethal to anything, it can turn any material into a super heated crystal gelatin that will keep its extreme temperature" _Unohana thought, suddenly seeing how the goo crystal like floor solidified, steam coming out of it, _"It has limited time, of course to sustain such temperature it would need a constant stream of those purple flames to do so, yet it instantly passed from…paste to solid in less than a second, but in that time they are still capable of vaporizing anything that touches it"_ Unohana thought as she jumped off the light post to the glassed and steaming ground, once she landed she immediately jumped back onto the light post, her sandals letting a little smoke out of the soils.

"_Okay is not so cool down, my sandals are slightly burned and I think my hair is slightly puffed, so intriguing, it changes shape to lure the enemy into a false feeling of safety"_ she thought as her blue eyes surveyed the area, "Now where are you" she wondered softly as she held her zanpakutou close to her, the mist kinda blinded her, but her other senses were all okay.

Suddenly her sharp ears caught a sound behind her, turning around and raising Minazuki to parry any attack, she found herself staring at another thing entirely, it was a kid, twelve years old give it or take it, blond spiky hair, tanned skin, a bright orange thick jacket and pants, blue sandals, three whisker marks on his cheeks a blue headband with a metallic portion near the forehead with an engraved emblem in it, and bright blue eyes, he was…so cute in her way of seeing it, then she saw it, right on his left hand was a white glove with a green crystal in the kanji of 'wind' in it, another Rayearth, simple as that.

"Which side are you on…Nee-sama" the kid whispered as he vanished into the mist, leaving a blinking Unohana, "That is…" then her honed senses of combat and survival shot up again, she turned once again only to be impaled in the chest by the biggest sword she had ever seen, the blade itself was now allocated on her chest, the pain was something she had never experienced in her life, even more considering that her heart, lungs and spine got severed in one single move, lifting her gaze she saw that the same boy held the massive blade, and started to dig the blade further into her, right into the base of the hilt, then he leaned to her right side of her face.

"Don't make me kill you"

Then all ceased, the pain, the image, all of it, Retsu gasped, trying to regain her bearings, the pain was so real, the feeling of having her organs severed, her nerves blazed, she touched the area where the massive zanbato had stabbed her, only to see that part of the robes there were cut, exposing part of her chest and belly, the blade had been impaled on her chest starting from the collarbone to the mid-section of her belly, only one thought came to Unohana's mind after such experience and the lack of blood after such instrument that would surely be Kenpachi's shikai had impaled her and before anything else happened.

"_Who was that kid?"_

* * *

Ichigo saw with some interest the mist that covered the area were Retsu was, he had only see outlines of a shadow, then the mist became too thick, of course he also wondered how in the nine hells he was able to breathe purple fire!

"_**Oh that, those are the purple flames of the great mist swamp of the dark elf village"**_

"…_The what of what?"_

"_**Elves, as you know them come in two races, the light elves and the dark elves, light elves are your traditional hottie, almost perfect in every sense, night elves are their counterparts, while sharing their perfect looks and almost unmatched speed with the blade, they come of a different breed, born out of the union of a dragon that lived inside the swamp their village is, and a exile light elf who touched 'dark' magic, under the three night sky, the dark elves were conceived, they are more versatile to the more 'darker' arts, more obscure I dare say, one of them is the purple flames you shot, those flames were originally of the dragon who took human form to lure people inside the swamp, then he breathe purple flames on them, if they didn't die by the flames, the mist would cause them to see hallucinations, some say you could see who would kill you, or a future friend or lover, hell some say you could see the future as a whole, the flames were very hot, as you can see the glass itself becomes glassed goo, then solidifies and remains its extreme temperature, the dragon ate the molten remains of the person and the glassed goo, trust me on this, those flames are cool to disorient the enemy"**_

"_Yeah…but how I did it? And I burned her sleeves with staring at it"_

"_**You domain fire, ALL fires, from the simple fire of a candle to the black flames of amaterasu of the ninja world, even the flames of the sun are at you command, but we wary, fire is chaotic by nature, right now it can come and go as they please, in time they will test you, unlike the wind and water, fire will want its knight to be worthy of their use, to be prepared, easily those purple flames could have been the flames of hell"**_

"…_Cool"_

"_**Yeah…cool, heads up she is coming"**_

Ichigo saw how Unohana jumped away of the mist, slowly gasping and using her zanpakutou as a cane as she kneeled, she seemed perturbed by something, he could see it in her eyes, slowly she raised her head to face him, her blue eyes held such determination, but of what Ichigo wondered, they didn't look like the eyes of Renji who tried to kill him, or Byakuya who had actually attacked to kill, this was a different stare.

"Raise your blades Rayearth" she simply said, raising her own at him, "…fight" with that command both shot at each other again, blades clashed to one another as they blurred, sparks flying as the blades collided, Ichigo took several steps back as he swung Ignis, hard, words popping out of his mind, images on his mind he mimicked with accuracy, "Incendia Vesica (Blade of fire)" suddenly Ignis let out a powerful flame like wave at Retsu who brought her zanpakutou to bear, holding the flame wave with all her might before deflecting it, but Ichigo could see sweat already forming on her brow, either by exhaustion or by the heat of Incendia Vesica he didn't knew.

Ichigo rushed at Unohana, both blades tips leaving a gouge on the ground as he dragged them on the pavement, swinging Zangetsu at Unohana hard, the medic/captain deflected the blow easily, just to hiss when Ignis tip brushed near her cheek, leaving a fine bloody cut in it, narrowing her eyes at the attack, Unohana shot at Ichigo, her free hand aimed at him, "Way of destruction 31: Shakkahou" she said, a red ball of pure reiatsu aimed at Ichigo was fired of her extended palm, so close it was that Ichigo had not time to do nothing but to receive the full blast of it.

**BOOM!!!**

Unohana let a slight sigh of relieve as the trademark Kido of seated officers met its mark, while a low-level Kido spell considering her rank and reiatsu reserves, it was exhausting, more because she had used it with a lot of reiatsu added in it to put down her opponent, while many would think that adding so much reiatsu into an average spell against a shinigami wannabe was overkill, especially for a captain-level shinigami, she would wholeheartedly disagree, they didn't knew what she had faced, what he was capable off, the single fact that she sported some cuts, that her haori and robes were damaged and her reiatsu levels were slightly lower than normal was evidence of it, anyone who were to see her in that state would ask her what kind of animal attacked her, or in Kenpachi's case if the animal that attacked her had an equally savage brother he could kill.

But now it was over, he was down…and no one had to know that she only killed him, it was not like Yamamoto cared much about having eyes in the world of the living, she concluded that attacking the Rayearth family would be a mistake and a offense to the Rayearth itself, he fought her, damn it hurt her, few had done that deed, so out of respect for the Rayearth and respect to herself and her vows to not take unnecessary lives, Unohana would leave them live.

Sheathing Minazuki slowly, she turned around, remaining silent for a minute then taking a slight leap to a light post…

"Telum Incendia!" a flame bolt hit her straight on the back, making her loose balance and crash again on the street, rolling a little, Unohana was able to put down the flames out of her already damaged haori by rolling on the ground while taking a defensive stance, anyone looking at her back would have seen a neatly hole made out of her clothes, some black powder were the flame bolt impacted, and a nasty scar that was place semi-vertically right on the middle of her back.

Taking deep breaths to ease the fact that she had just been target of a cheap shot, which she hates with a passion, Unohana turned around, spotting Ichigo coming out of the smoke her spell generated, most all of his top robe was gone, with the exception of the sleeves that somehow remained on his arms, the rest was gone, exposing a chiseled chest, now Unohana had seen a man naked, she is a medic, she hasn't seen anything new after examining 100 hundred naked men, most of them had been send when Kenpachi was bored and had decided to 'spar' but seeing a chiseled chest on a fifteen years old kid made her wonder many things, one of them if Rukia had seen him shirtless.

Pushing those thoughts and possible blackmail material aside, Unohana unsheathed her zanpakutou again, the battle was far from over, it had to end, but before she could do anything else, she had to know, that little question that was nagging her ever since she crossed blades with him…

"Why you recovered your shinigami powers? Why to take that risk?" she asked, it was a valid question, Byakuya had destroyed his powers, Rukia had told him to not follow her, to carry on with his life, anyone else would have, but not him, why? That was something she wanted to know, also she wanted to know where she had seen the face of the father of Ichigo, and the secret of a perfect spicy food.

"Why? He-he…simple…she is my friend…she changed my life…true getting stabbed by her psycho of a brother was not part of it…but she changed me…believe it or not before I would not care for anyone else…I cared little for most spirits I saw, then she came…and she made me see things the other way…then she became my friend…and last I checked I don't abandon my friends" Ichigo said as he raised Zangetsu at Unohana, "I don't care about that stupid rule, I don't care about the balance, if I have to raise hell in Seireitei to rescue Rukia I WILL!" Ichigo declared.

"_**Oh my ichigito, you're already spreading chaos, mayhem and destruction! I'm so proud of you!"**_

"_Fira not now"_

Reminding himself that he controlled an element which was basically chaotic at is best and somehow he and his life were going to become as chaotic as fire itself, Ichigo kept his gaze on Unohana, seeing something that he hadn't see on Unohana's eyes before.

Uncertainty.

"You…you don't want this" Ichigo mentioned, making Unohana raise an eyebrow at Ichigo, "Excuse me?"

"You…your eyes…they are like the one of Byakuya and Renji…you followed orders but didn't want to follow them…you betray yourself" Ichigo said, now there were few things that could make Unohana go into a rampage, and when I mean few I mean like two or three things, having to deal with Kenpachi for once, not getting her favorite food, with extra spice, and of course someone saying that she was a traitor, in any way possible, the fact that Ichigo had told her that she was basically betraying herself by following orders that she didn't want to follow, while truth, was not well for her, and the fact a fifteen years old kid, a baby to anyone on soul society in terms of experience on fight and life told her that kinda set her off, not in the all 'I'm going to chop you into little pieces and exhibit your head as a trophy on my fireplace' thing but near.

A thick wave of reiatsu crashed over Ichigo, yet the only visible affect on him was that the ground on his feet cracked, his hair flattened on a comic way and the rags that were the remains of his sleeves were completely obliterated, beyond that he looked fine.

"I…I have never been insulted like this…Ichigo Kurosaki…you are the very first to insult me like this" Unohana hissed, her eyes slightly glowed with the amount of reiatsu she was pouring directly at Ichigo, yet she was mildly surprised, she had developed that reiatsu pressure to affect only one target, not an area as a whole like most captains use their reiatsu, such concentrated reiatsu is enough to bring any opponent down, while the captain-commander had his own version of it, hers was more effective because instead of causing a person to choke to death by fear, she basically crush them with her overwhelming presence, that's why she rarely uses it, because it requires to her to be angry, very angry, that and she doesn't sees much action unlike the rest of the captains, hell even Mayuri saw more action than her, and that was saying much.

"So what? If you're angry then you know is right!" Ichigo snapped, oblivious to the fact that he should be a fine red stain on the ground instead of standing strong on his two legs.

"True or lie doesn't matter now, you offended me with those words…" she said, vanishing out of Ichigo's sight, Ichigo just turned around, swinging Ignis, sparks flew as Ignis met Minazuki, Ichigo leveled his glare to Unohana, meeting her serious look, "Then try to make me retract!" Ichigo snapped, suddenly Unohana was pushed away by an invisible force, flipping several times on the air, Unohana seemed to land in the air, much to the shock of Ichigo.

"We shinigami are trained in a variety of arts, from healing, to swordsmanship, one of our skills is the ability to manipulate our own reiatsu on parts of our bodies, thus allowing us different types of offensive or defensive moves"

"Your skin…" Ichigo said, "That's why it was so hard to cut you with Zangetsu, that's why the fireball only singed your skin and didn't burned it" Ichigo said, "Very good, yes that is one of the many uses of reiatsu has, we can harden our skin enough to even deflect a zanpakutou blade with our own hands, we can harden our limbs so when we use Hakuda we inflict the upmost damage on our opponent, or in this case stand in the air as if was solid ground"

"_That's some unholy shit I'm seeing"_

"_**Oh come on you can do the same, just because you have larger reserves doesn't mean is impossible, just a little hard to control, but once you get the hang of it, it will be so easy and become a second nature to you, like breathing"**_

"_That's so comforting, that bit of information would have worked like before we got attacked by her!!"_

"_**Oh relax ichigito, think of her as a test"**_

"_A test? What are you drinking to think that woman!!?"_

"_**In Seireitei the elite gather, when you storm there sooner or later you will face a captain or one of their lieutenants, is in an inevitable fact that once you enter there you will draw their attention, especially considering that our esteemed captain here will return with a lot of bruises"**_

"That comes without saying" Ichigo muttered, looking at Unohana, "So…are you going to make me regret my words?" Ichigo asked to Unohana, just to her to flick her zanpakutou at him, "…I got a mission…your death and the death of your familiars…and for than end…I'll have to do this" she said as she rose her zanpakutou high above her, "…Ban…"

Unohana's left shoulder suddenly erupted in blood, much to the shock of Ichigo and Unohana, falling of the air, Unohana had barely time to land on one knee and use Minazuki as a makeshift cane to support her weight after the attack, looking around she spotted the one who attacked her, and got eye wide, "Impossible" she whispered, "Not impossible Retsu-chan" Isshin Kurosaki said as he flicked his zanpakutou, clad in shinigami robes, a serious expression on his face that was alien to Ichigo and to his present daughters.

"Is inevitable" he said, turning to his shocked son, "Sorry I came till now Ichigo, but Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan seemed dead bend on not leaving you alone…" Isshin said as he flicked his zanpakutou at Unohana, "…It can't be…it can't" she said, slowly standing up, "What can't be?" Ichigo asked.

"You died…we were told you died" Unohana said, "Is that what yama-jiji said? No wonder my old man never looked for me or congratulated me when I married Masaki-chan" Isshin said, "So…I see…we were told you died fighting Adjuchas-class hollows on the human world…Isane cried a lot that day" Unohana whispered, "That was years ago" Isshin said simply, "So this is why your son…has shinigami powers? Because of you?"

"HEY!" Ichigo snapped, "I just found out about him…by the way" Ichigo hissed as he turned sights on his dad, "You and I have a lot to talk about" Ichigo snapped, "Yes…as soon she is out of the way" Isshin said as he rose his zanpakutou at Retsu, "…You raise your blade at a former comrade…at a former love?" she said softly, making Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu go eye wide, "I'm no longer a shinigami Retsu-chan, I died at the eyes of soul society that day, I moved on, the evidence of that lies in front and behind you" Isshin said, Unohana knew that, Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu were examples of that.

"I knew that associating with a Quincy and a human would bring you only disgrace" she said, "I had my reasons Unohana, don't question them, you are loyal to soul society and what it represents, but I was loyal to the human world and what it represented...we are no machines…we have a choice"

"Did that choice included getting exiled while we were told that you were killed?"

"Central 46 has gone beyond their duties…Yamamoto has overlooked many things…he has committed many mistakes"

"You know better than anyone that we have rules…they broke them…they had to die" she said softly, "Pops was always too rough with the rules, never measuring the consequences"

"…That's why you became a shinigami? To know the other side of the coin?" Unohana asked, "Perhaps…but that's beyond now…you threatened my family, and that's something I won't forgive so easily…" Isshin stated firmly, "…I know…and you know what I must do…I am loyal as you said…please…forgive me" she said, suddenly blurring out, then appearing right behind the two young girls who looked terrified as somehow found out who was behind them.

"…Forgive me" Unohana said as she closed her eyes, one thing was killing a hollow of a kid, knowing that the spirit would be purified, but another entirely different thing was killing kids, it went beyond of what she believed, she is a medic, she saves lives…

"_Do not forget we are shinigami…we are to keep balance…regardless of the price"_

The words Yamamoto told her the day prior to their fight against the Rayearth of wind 300 years ago still echoed on her mind, they kept balance…no matter what…

"_You betray yourself"_

Ichigo words echoed again in her head, she could hear Minazuki whisper something to her, but couldn't hear it…

"_What side you choose…nee-sama" _

And to top it all the voice of the kid she didn't knew echoed again in her mind, the inner conflict was unbearable, it was too confusing…

**BAMM!!!**

Her head shot to the left with such strength that send her flying crashing to a wall, making a slight crack on the concrete as her body crashed in it, slowly opening her eyes and berating herself for closing her eyes and leaving a huge opening that could have get her killed, Unohana set eyes on her attacker, and got eye wide at the sight of a woman clad in scandalous clothes, something Matsumoto might wear, but the feeling Unohana had of that woman, the dread, the power…it was frightening, and more her eyes, burning like flames of hell, the stern look on her face made anyone wonder why the woman was so mad about.

"Fira" Ichigo said, making Unohana and Isshin to go eye wide, "…The fire guardian" Unohana whispered, now that was unexpected, as far as she knew the guardians were not exactly know for materializing on the material realm, hell the only cases know were of Anima the guardian of wind, and he (much to the anger of Yamamoto) was also the guardian of the spirit world, soul society being a separate spirit world altogether.

Slowly standing up, Retsu was unprepared to fence off Fira's sudden hold on her neck, slowly lifting her up, **"You sicken me shinigami" **Fira began, **"You betray yourself by following stupid rules that destroy lives, you weaken yourself by following rules blindly…you are weak" **Fira said, tightening her hold on Retsu's neck, **"Anima once told me that he hated all but one shinigami with passion, only one gained his grace when she put herself in the path of a death blow meant to a man that is a stubborn as he is old…do you remember that day?"**

"…Y…yes" Unohana chocked out, her grasp of Minazuki never faltering, **"Good, then you should remember those feelings of that day, when you were young, strong-wielded, with firm goals, yet 300 years of stern rules, 300 rules of deceptions, 300 years of following a lie that slowly corroded you until it left what I see before me, a woman as calm as a lake, yet feared by her peers, stick to rules yet conflicted by the rules and her heart, yet willing to kill a pair of defenseless girls, if Anima were to see you now Retsu…he would free you of that existence by carving your heart out as an act of mercy" **Fira hissed at Retsu.

"Then…do it…" Unohana gasped, **"No…you have still a chance…deep buried in you that what was once you lies, buried under a thick lair of…duty, that old Unohana that was buried after her battle with the Rayearth of wind, you closed yourself, you're still kind, but not the same kindness you once showed"**

"No…I…I can't" Unohana struggled at the grip of Fira, trying with desperation and without success to pry herself of the iron grip of the guardian of fire., for the first time in many years, she showed desperation.

"**Oh but you will, because what comes needs the old Unohana, one that always looked beyond what she could see…underneath…the underneath"**

To all the present's shock, the area was engulfed in a bright light, yet Retsu Unohana didn't screamed.

* * *

Far of the scene of battle, Shinji stared at the light with some apprehension, Hiyori at his side scowling because she didn't had the chance to meet the current Rayearth up-close and personal nor the guardian of fire, "This was a good idea?" she asked, "Letting him alone while she was around, she ain't no pushover you know"

"I know, but it was Fira-san idea, and it seems to have worked" Shinji said with a slight sigh, "Yet I wonder of the repercussions of it" Shinji wondered out loud, "After all she did recognize us but didn't attacked us, that's perhaps her most frightening quality…she is rather smart and observant" Shinji said, turning around, "Come on Hiyori-chan…we got a lot to do"

"To do? What exactly we have to do but to train?" Hiyori asked, "Oh yes…I haven't told you something Fira-san asked me…she want one of us to join Ichigo on his daredevil rescue of Rukia"

* * *

Yamamoto waited patiently at the arrival of Unohana, he knew beforehand the power of the Rayearth knights was to be answered with something of equal equivalence, reason why he didn't send Soifon or a seated officer of the second division, they were assassins alright, but they were no match against the raw power of a Rayearth, were they do fight to the Rayearth head on he would break them like twigs, as simple as that, they were no match to his power, Soifon would lose her cool in combat and facing an enemy that promised nothing short that a horrible demise.

As he waited as usual on the captains meeting chamber, along with the other captains who already realized that Unohana, one of the few captains that kept punctuality on the meetings, was already an hour late, the meeting had carried on as usual, the status of the divisions, the account of hollows killed by each division (the 11th division will always have the head on this part) how the paperwork was being sorted out, each captain hates working in paperwork with a passion, with the exception of the youngest captain around, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and on and on.

When the meeting was about to end, the doors of the chambers were opened loudly, each wooden door hitting the walls with such strength that one might think that Kenpachi had arrived, only to realize that he was around, and looking with expectance who had opened the doors.

So it was no surprise when he swore loudly when he saw who had done it, and the state of such person, "Holy shit!" Kenpachi roared in a mixture of shock and delight, shock because he saw Retsu Unohana waltz in like nothing, and delight because apparently she was involved in a very bloody battle, if her wounds and clothes state were of any indication, to him she had finally became a warrior instead of a sissy nurse…a sissy nurse that could shut him up with a simple glance.

The rest was more shocked by her battle worn looks; even Mayuri was surprised at the sight of Unohana waltzing in, fresh of some sort of battle against who know what, Soifon and Toshiro, usually the frosty ones of the captains were equally shocked as she advanced towards to sotaichou, Ukitake and Shunsui bared equal looks of shock at her presence, and who wouldn't, cuts and dried blood on several spots of her flawless skin, including a slight cut on her cheek, her hair was not braided as usual, instead it was unkempt and hanging loose, showing to all the sheer length of her hair, her robes were damaged, the most prominent damage was the hole right on the middle of her haori, a burned hole that exposed a nasty looking scar in her back, yet all had to wonder about the thin cut that was made by a blade on her robes, covered almost all her back, and seemed to be located near her spine.

Any thought about the thing that did her those wounds died out when she spoke, "I told you it was a bad idea" Unohana spoke, firmly, sternly, almost mad, some swore that she was about to go postal in the likes not even Kenpachi had never achieved, and the fact she knew Bankai didn't help either with the current panorama.

"He is alive…he will come here…will rescue Rukia Kuchiki…and burn anyone to ashes that dares to stop him" with that she turned around, purposely exposing her only wound, the wound she got by saving his butt centuries ago, "Be wary…" she then turned her head to face him, "Wind might cut, water might drown, and fire might burns, but of all deaths the wind and water can conjure, death by fire is the worse…I'm going to heal myself" she said, not a smile, not closed eyes or some sort of freaky aura that scared the cajones of everyone, she simply came, spoke and walked away.

When the doors of the chamber were closed, and after a minute of shock, it was oddly Gin who broke the ice in a very annoyed tone, "Okay what the hell was that?"

* * *

Isshin Kurosaki is a man that by all means is cool, goofy, and overall resilient to the abuse his son puts him when he wakes him up in the most crack-up ways, one might think he is actually a stun double rather than a doctor considering that he has fallen face first on the ground many times over.

But seeing the glare of Karin, the stern yet soft look of Yuzu and the fiery gaze of Ichigo as his ears let steam out of the holes and he slowly and deliberately let some wisps of flames out of his nostrils were of any indication of how deep-knee screw he was, he had no other option that to tell them, he had too, his daughters saw him left his body, they saw him wield a zanpakutou, hell they heard that before his beloved Masaki he had a relationship with Retsu Unohana! Dammit he either's start explaining or he can start kissing his ass goodbye because he doubts even sweet Yuzu is going to hold that much longer after that stun he pulled.

So he decided to go clean.

Inside Ichigo's mind, Fira smiled, _**"Just as planned"**_

"…DIE!!!" even the part where Ichigo let his flaming breath his father straight in the face, leaving his face black, and his hair poofed, on a brighter note now Yuzu would not need to leaved warm food when she had to leave, Ichigo could warm it with his flaming breath of doom.

Although something came to her mind then, "Who is that?" Yuzu said, pointing at the plus that has always been around the house and only Ichigo and Karin had noticed, his dad also but kept it as a secret.

"Uh…eh…is just a dream" Ichigo said in a vain attempt to dodge the subject of him being also being a shinigami, because anything paranormal was going to be tied to him.

He failed horribly.

* * *

_there you have it people, kinda crazy don't you think, but as usual so far in the rayearth stories, all is AU, you saw it with naruto, you saw it with danny, hell would you expect less with ichigo? now i know some might complain, and i'm open to suggestions, after all critisism is the base of improvement, as long is not flames, i hate flames, they will be used to warm myself on winter...and cook dinner, now for the preview of chapter._

_

* * *

_

**The time has come...**

"We will go Kurosaki-kun...Rukia is our friend"

**True friends stand together...**

"I was just passing by with my current clothes and wanting to lay waste to some shinigami, it has nothing to do with me wanting to rescue Kuchiki-san"

**Alliances are formed...**

"Oi dickhead! are we going to leave now!?"

**And all that stands in their way...**

"This place...it looks like an Edo era city"

**Is the biggest wall ever, with the biggest gatekeeper ever...**

"I am Gantu Shiba, and i hate all shinigami!"

**In the next chapter of Rayearth Knights: ichigo the inferno...into the unknown...**

"bye-bye!"

**And so all begins...**

**

* * *

**

_there you have it people, until a next time, i bid you farewell, and happy new year! Hypn0s signs off, till next year._


	5. 4: Into the Unknown

_hello my friends, it is I, Hypn0s, happy new year people, a little late of course, but what the hell, how all you people holding up, I hope you are all eager to read as I am to write, i apologize for the little delay, new year little rest, college new semester and all that kinda took my time but not my ind of the game, i brought you all another chapter of Ichigo the inferno people, my very first chapter of this year, as special as it is i added some new twists as usual in my stories, all my stories so far stop being canon in one point, to those who are new on reading my story this is an AU story, so don't expect e to follow the manga and anie plotline, that means if i add the bount arc or the zanpakutou tales arcs it will be on flashbacks or has alreadsy passed, so don't worry for me adding the filler arcs._

_now for the show people, red and rewiev, oh and don't forget to vote on my profile._

* * *

**CHAPTER 4: INTO THE UNKNOWN**

No one had seen their captain in that state before, never, not even her lieutenant, and that was saying much, it was a terrifying sight, torn clothes, wounds, cuts, they could feel her reiatsu was not at its peak, whatever she fought had actually wounded her, the more shocking thing was that she had participated in a fight, Retsu Unohana was known for being able to end fights even before they started with basically a stare, but it seemed that this time her blade was indeed required.

Isane Kotetsu wondered what kind of beast was able to wound her captain, or why her captain was in the human world in the first place, as that and many other questions came to be in her mind without a solid answer, the tall lieutenant was already inside of the quarters of her captain, so said captain was seated on a futon, her damaged haori folded near a chair, Isane there could see the magnitude of perhaps the oldest wound Unohana had, the scar on her back, only visible thanks to the hole on her robes that was no bigger than a head.

"Yes…Isane" Unohana asked, applying a spell on the wound on her arms to seal the wound, so said wound was slowly closing, something Isane noticed, to a medic shinigami of the caliber of her captain, so said wound should be closed the second after the spell was casted, but there it was, closing so slowly that Isane could swear that it was taking its bloody time.

"Uh…captain…what happened to you?" Isane asked, for a moment Isane heard her captain sigh, "I faced…a shadow of my past, something I thought…would never happen again" Unohana said softly, "The wound I have on my back, the scar…is a memento of that particular moment" she said again, "…The scar…is so…old" Isane exclaimed, "300 years old to be exact Isane, I and the sotaichou faced something that was vastly superior to a Vasto Lorde…we angered it…we were fortunate to have survived" Unohana began.

"Now…300 years later it comes again, different face, different name, different home world, same mission…same legend" Unohana said, "I…I don't understand"

"Of course you don't Isane…but you will…soon he will come…to rescue what he considers precious to him" Unohana said as the wound on her arm finally healed, standing up, she turned to face her lieutenant, "Isane…come, we have much to do before the week comes to an end" she said, "Week? What will happen?"

"…all will change…all will change"

* * *

Ichigo didn't knew what to make of this, hell not even his sisters didn't knew what to do either, their dad was a shinigami, that meant he was…Kami knows how old before he eloped with his mother…then the little fact that the shinigami woman that had attacked him was in fact a former girlfriend of his dad, he didn't knew actually what to do, either kick his dad so hard that he would never seat again, burn his ass or simply give him the reason, after all he was exiled.

Yeah, exiled, he never told them why, but what he could gather of what Unohana told about a Quincy and a human, it was either a familiar of Uryuu and his mom for instance, or something like that, whatever it was, it seemed to ensure him exile…instead of death sentence that Rukia had over her.

Nevertheless now he saw what Fira had done, intentionally she had forced his family to stay, he would spend time with them, but apparently she knew also that someone was going to attack them, that alone would force his dad to retake his powers, or use them again since it seemed that he had them, but was hesitant of using them, while the girls had confronted him about this, Ichigo had other thing in mind.

His father could have saved…

"_**Cut that line of thought ichigito"**_

"_Fira, I'm not in the mood to talk with you after the shit you pulled"_

"_**Boo-hoo cry me a river, I did it because you needed to know the truth"**_

"_And what truth that was, my dad is a shinigami and the assassin was his ex, no wonder she tried to kill us"_

"_**Sheezz, listen about the other thing, your dad recovered his powers after the incident with your mother, he had forsaken that life so he could live a peaceful life with his family"**_

"_Then why he has them now?"_

"_**Duh! He has them because he'll be dammed to let another hollow take one of his family away"**_

"_And the incident with Fishbone-D, my first encounter with Rukia…that night he was KO"_

"_**Caught off guard, trust me 20 years of inactivity as shinigami rusted his skills, even more when a hollow had his daughter on his hands and he was drowsy, it was sheer luck nothing happened besides you becoming a shinigami"**_

"_Then…he knew?"_

"_**Ask him, he should answer you that question"**_

There was no argue with her logic, after all she has been longer in the world than him or any other shinigami know, he assumes, after all she is the guardian of fire, apparently she was quite a celebrity and very ancient…

"_**I AM NOT OLD!!"**_

"_Hey I read you're supposed to be as old as the universe"_

"_**I will burn to ashes whoever wrote that, I am at the peak of my youth!"**_ Fira all but roared inside Ichigo's mind, making so said shinigami to slightly groan, well women were rather sensible with their age…at least full grown up women, teenage girls are more concerned for their weight.

In any case he had a lot to wonder, or rather say a lot to do, he had to explain to his dad and sisters about what was really happening, what was he planning to do, he was sure his dad was not going to be too fond to the idea of him jumping to the den of the lions, but this was his decision, not his dad's, sure his sisters wouldn't be too fond to the idea either, but well, he is the one with the big ass sword and the friend on another dimension facing execution because of him, he had to be a man and save his friend.

Aside that fact, and the fact he had to tell his sisters that technically it was his fault to a level all what was happening so far, he was sure his sisters, especially Yuzu were not going to give him a rest, especially Yuzu, after all he had gave her the ability to see spirit beings, either way today was going to be a very stressful day.

Well the festival was about nine days away, if anything else that could calm his kid sisters a lot.

He hoped.

* * *

The dreams, it kept haunting her, images, shadows, faces, bodies, places, things she didn't know firsthand, but somehow knew they existed, the images, they were taunting her, she should know the places, the faces, the names, but she didn't, yet she knew she had been there once.

Her dreams always had been like this ever since Rukia Kuchiki had been brought in, ever since she was condemned to death…ever since Unohana-taichou had returned like if she had waged a war alone, not even a day after that and Seireitei was on full alert.

Yet the dreams didn't relent, in fact they got worse, but now this time, she could see faces clearly, faces and bodies, many faces and bodies.

She saw four rows of people, to the right she saw the ones clad in what seemed a blue armor that was as changing as the faces of the ones wearing it, nine people, the middle row was filled with women that were clad on royal yellow and golden robes, all but one, clad in an armor, holding what she could only describe as the longest Nodachi ever made, the left row was filled with people in red fearsome armor, nineteen in total, the closest row to the woman on yellow/golden robes, the shortest line, barely four, clad in green armor, at the side of the woman in yellow.

It was then when she saw it, one of the men on blue armor was so familiar to her Shiro-chan, same white snow hair and turquoise eyes, but taller, taller than Aizen, arms crossed and with a cocky smile, number seven on the line of the blue armored people, then much to her shock she saw the little lieutenant of the 11th division captain on the line of the red armored people, a full grown woman, pink hair reaching to her calves, a serious expression on her face, but with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, and like her captain, holding a damaged, yet very dangerous sword on her hands, she was last on the line of the ones on red armor.

Then she saw it, on the bottom of the line, hidden on the shadows, she could only make their silhouettes, three people, the one on the left holding a massive zanbato, and he was barely of the height of Toshiro she noted, but what she did noted was the odd shadow on the floor that seemed like a fox…with nine tails.

The one on the middle was the tallest of them, holding what seemed two cleavers on his hands, clad on shinigami robes; his shadow on the ground oddly resembled a human…with a pair of curved horns flanking the head and a white portion on the shadow, showing a hole in the chest.

The third one was on the right of the one holding the cleavers, his sword was odd, the blade seemed made out of ice, but glowed with its own light, he was taller than Toshiro of course, his shadow was different, it resembled a full grown man, but she could make the hair looked like flames, and the open mouth of the shadow revealed sharp fangs and a snake like tongue.

The three people suddenly turned and faced her, their eyes glowing in green, red and blue respectively, all spoke at the same time.

"**What side you choose?"**

As they spoke she suddenly felt something tap her on the shoulder, turning around she came in front of perhaps the most bizarre of it all, it was herself, but taller, clad in the same golden/yellow robes, smiling at her as one of her hands touched her forehead.

"**Poor dear…you're being deceived…let me help you"**

It was then that she woke up, eyes darting around, panting and with the mother of all headaches, it was then Hinamori Momo wondered what its older self said about 'being deceived'

Her answer would come in nine days, along with the face of one of the three men that she dream with, not knowing that she would play an instrumental role in what would come ahead.

_**Nine days later, the human world…**_

Ichigo slowly made his way out of his home/clinic, his sisters were asleep, after enjoying the festival in earnest, and basically tire themselves in games, eating and overall enjoying the fireworks, and enjoying the company of the family, that and the fact the girls had been with him every time he had been with Urahara training, the why became apparent…not less than five second later when Karin had kicked a boulder five times her height and Kami knows how heavy like if it was a simple soccer ball, which landed on Urahara's head, then Yuzu, her mere presence alone seemed enough to pacify anyone…and heal, as demonstrated when standing just at his side, Urahara's massive cranial concussion healed, true is not very fast, but the fact that Yuzu alone could do such a thing was cool, oh and another thing that kinda had Ichigo on the loop, his sisters, like him, had massive reiatsu reserves, but unlike him they could control it…to an extent, they do say women develop faster, they have to include the learn faster also, because in a span of eight days they had their 'powers' in a level where not starling them could bring harm to others, which was good, last thing people needed was Karin kicking someone to the stratosphere.

As Ichigo stepped out of the clinic, he reminisce about his training with Urahara, true ten days weren't much of a time to train someone properly to storm a city full of death gods, but Urahara had taught him a lot of great things, he had a pair of extra surprises with the Urahara seal of approval stored for Byakuya, and like a dozen more with Fira's seal of approval, one might think that with her way of life which included drinking great dozes of sake and who knows what else kind of alcoholic drink, bathing in lava, mostly napping and resting, Fira would be a lazy guardian, whoever thought that was wrong.

Fira was a slave driver, she drilled him basically with any know fire technique developed by the former rayearths of fire, history of Crystalia, and of course the history behind several of the wars where the Rayearth knights were summoned.

Of all the wars, and all the rayearths that came and go, the current generation of rayearths had in fact secondary powers that were not Rayearth related, meaning that before him, every single Rayearth knight was a normal person, but with dormant powers that were awakened, not only that, each generation of rayearths had at least several 'replacements' in case one of them died, the current generation didn't had replacements, the Rayearth of fire, being the battle oriented Rayearth was in fact the one with the longest death toll on both their ranks and opposing ranks, seriously there is nothing that can withstand the flames of hell, no armor can do that.

Ichigo of course was not so into the idea of dying in a battlefield, missing some sort of limb, dying by blood loss while the bodies of his enemies lay around him, broken and shattered beyond repair or recognition while flames of all kinds burned on the background and consumed all.

Regarding that subject, Fira had kinda told him what kind of flames he could use, after all he is the Rayearth of fire, and his domain is basically all that can turn anything else to ashes, or burn, or cauterize, or vaporize, or all above at the same time.

First of all the normal fire, the one know as 'material fire' nothing exceptional to point besides that can burn and is his 'default' fire to make it short, effective against low level hollows, low level shinigami and pretty much anything flammable, while it had some effect on Gigai and other shinigami and hollows, it was not as effective if he didn't put…some feeling, yes, his attacks were tied to his feelings, if he felt angry, really angry, ready to rip someone apart with his bare hands, his flames become hotter, or faster, if he fell sad or depressed, then his flames go weaker and slower, it goes the same with all his flame based techniques, strong feelings, strong flames, weak feelings, weak flames.

He was, in Fira's way of seeing it, too far of controlling other kind of flames, while most of them kinda demanded a test of power, others demanded other things, Ichigo still had a hard time assimilating the fact that flames as a whole were also sentient beings, but considering that he is about to storm a city full of death gods on another dimension and he is a legendary knight, nothing would surprise him now, truly, a cat could pass, talk to him and turn into a super hot woman and he would be hardly phased by it…until the naked chick part, there is no way he will be able to look a woman naked, he respects them too much to actually stare at one like that.

Others just say that he is too shy with women, reasons why somehow he wasn't all over Orihime, but no one had the balls to tell him that, they weren't suicidal like him.

But before he could even take three steps away of the clinic, he felt a presence behind him, turning slightly, he saw his dad behind him, looking serious at him, it was an odd sight to Ichigo, especially more since even now that he and his sisters knew his dad status as Ex-shinigami and former relationship with the shinigami that nearly killed them per orders, he kept acting as a goof and crazy father…one that could kick your head away, at least now Ichigo could thank all those years of his father sneak attacking him as a way to improve his reflexes.

"You're really going?" Isshin asked, "Yeah…can't let her pay for some stupid rule" Ichigo replied, "Some rules…are harsh, true, but they are made for a reason" Isshin said, "…I won't let her die…if I have to demolish all I will…I won't let her die, not like that, not by me" Ichigo replied.

"Ichigo…what happened to Masaki was not your fault, and neither what will happen to Rukia" Isshin exclaimed silently, "It was, both of them, you know it…but this time, this time I can do something about it, I will fix my mistake" Ichigo said, only to see his father sigh slightly in defeat, "Just like your mother" Isshin said.

"Headstrong, sometimes stubborn as a mule…but she had clear were her loyalties laid, on her friends and those she loved" Isshin said as he pulled something out of his pockets.

"Dammit Rukia ain't my girlfriend" Ichigo hissed, "I never implied something like that…so her name's Rukia…she would have approved" Isshin said, making Ichigo narrow his eyes, if it wasn't Fira then it was his old man, he swears if another person or entity decides to meddle with his already dead love life he is going to roast them…like a chicken roast burn.

But more to his shock his father didn't added more about his love life (or lack of therefore) instead he handed Ichigo a small charm, "I made this charm for Masaki once…it was for protection…the one day she didn't wear was the day…"

"I know" Ichigo said, taking the small charm, "I know it will work for you and your…body…after all we don't want Kon ruining your body while you're out right?" with that Isshin walked inside the clinic, leaving a dumbfound Ichigo, more by the fact he knew about Kon, well now he could at least keep him in line with Yuzu, she had a soft spot for a plushy, and a talking one would surely bring her mad in joy.

Oh he could already hear Kon whine in utter fear at Yuzu's antics with her dolls, there is a reason he doesn't enters the threshold that is Karin and Yuzu's room, and is not because of Karin, is more because Yuzu transform whenever doll she lays her hands on onto a super girly version of them.

Oh he couldn't wait to see Kon say uncle as Yuzu did another of her 'extreme makeovers' on his chibi-lion body that ought to teach him control.

_**Fifteen minutes later, in front of Urahara's shop…**_

When Ichigo arrived he expected a lot of things, well most, after all this was Urahara Kisuke he was talking about, he could expect some sort of hollow-low rate hentai hybrid of a monster waiting for him to train, he could expect another bout with Ururu, hell he wouldn't be surprised if Urahara proclaimed he would accompany him to Soul Society clad in shinigami robes…or in a clown's costume, it didn't mattered to him, Urahara seemed crazy enough to dress even as a girl and he wouldn't be bothered by it, but what waited him in the shop was…shocking to say the least.

Orihime, Chad, Yoruichi, Uryuu and a strange blonde girl clad in red sweat clothes and a zanpakutou strapped to her back if the aura around the blade was any give away of it, waiting for him in front of the shop, "Inoue, Chad, Uryuu…who are you?" Ichigo asked to the small girl who immediately let a un-lady like snort and sneer at him.

"Whoa, for a Rayearth knight you surely are not so impressive" the little girl said, the reaction of Ichigo added more shock to his already surprised friends, "Oh come on! Does everyone knows about this!" Ichigo all but snapped, "When you have a glove that is supposed to be fabricated with the same material that the universe and a crystal that is part of your soul is hard to not find out who you truly are" the girl said as she finally crossed eyes with Ichigo, seeing with hidden amusement how the Quincy stared at Ichigo's left hand, or better said his glove with fascination.

"Name's Hiyori Sarugaki, remember it dickhead" the newly introduced Hiyori said, making Ichigo narrow his eyes, but dismissed it when he focused on his friends, "Okay guys, besides her, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, moving his left hand of Uryuu's somewhat disturbingly hungry gaze.

"Okay…what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked once again, now hoping they wound answer his question, "They are here to help you" a deep male voice said, turning to Chad, Ichigo saw that the voice didn't come of him, rather it came of the ground, looking down, Ichigo spotted a black cat with yellow eyes that almost glowed, almost being the keyword, "You should be grateful, they trained hard just to go with you and help you rescue Rukia, show some appreciation and bow" the cat said, now, one would expect that Ichigo would react like Uryuu when he met Yoruichi the first time, and considering that Orihime is a little of an airhead and Chad has nerves of steel and basically little freaks him out, it was of a shock to see Ichigo only blink slowly at the cat.

"A talking cat…why I'm not surprised, of course a talking cat, I'm a shinigami, my old man is one, Rukia is one, I fight cannibal spirits and about to go to another world, a talking cat is no surprise so far" Ichigo muttered apparently to himself, making all raise an eyebrow to him, it was like a talking animal was no surprise to him at…

"**Oh a cat"** every single person present looked at the ground again, or to be precise behind Ichigo, seeing how a bird of the size of an average dog, crimson red feather with fire like orange feathered tails, burning like eyes, dark and sharp talons on strong legs, with a turf of orange hair like Ichigo on the head of the bird, like a crest, suddenly emerged out of thin air, behind Ichigo, slowly making its way to Yoruichi, **"Such a cute one…so…delicious" **the melodious, exotic and almost lust filled tone of voice of the bird filled the ears of each teen and the cat who gulped nervously, all but Ichigo who looked at the bird with bored eyes, "Fira enough, don't sexually harass a cat"

That name caught the attention of the sexually 'harassed' cat, "Fira? As Fira the fire guardian of Crystalia?" the cat asked, "Yes…and you are?"

"Yoruichi…I'm surprised…never I would have imagined I would meet one of the guardians personally, I am honored"

"**Oh don't be, Anima spends much of his time on the realm of the death, Draconax spends even more watching the time flow as it should be, and don't get me started with Gaia, little uptight bitch, can't admit she made a mistake by challenging me onto a drinking contest, is not my fault she woke up at my side the next day"**

"Fira enough" Ichigo snapped, sighing as he saw the bird fly at his shoulders, landing gracefully in it…and digging her sharp talons on his shoulder, ignoring the sharp pain which his body somehow got accustom to, and not even bothered by, Ichigo finally directed his gaze on his friends, who finally answered his unanswered question.

"Rukia-san is also our friend Kurosaki-kun, we can't let you do something we should also do" Orihime began, making Ichigo sigh, it was certainly true, in the two months Rukia spend on the human world she had become a friend of Orihime…but not of her eccentric food that's for sure.

Turning to Chad, the giant of a man remained quiet from some seconds, "You know my reasons Ichigo, you're my friend, that also makes me Rukia's, if you go I go as well" he offered, making Ichigo sigh again, then he turned to Uryuu, seeing him dressed oddly in white robes with royal blue stripes in it, he seemed like some sort of royal knight without armor of some zappy fairy tale.

"I was just passing by, clad in the Quincy battle grabs, taking a walk when I saw you guys here, so I decided to tag along, it has nothing to do with me considering Rukia as a…Quincy material regardless her shinigami heritage, nothing like that"

"**Sure, and the fact we are going to storm the court of pure souls, filled with shinigamis, filled with plenty of chances to prove yourself and attain revenge for every single Quincy slain unjustly during the war has nothing to do with that" **Fira taunted, even if Uryuu didn't admit it, it was kinda truth, although he had to wonder how a bird was able to smirk when it doesn't has lips or facial muscles to show any expression.

Then Ichigo turned to the last member of the group, Hiyori, that as far as he knows has no connections whatsoever with Rukia, "Don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart dickhead, I know Seireitei well enough to guide you where the brat is, besides, believe it or not, there is more than just a simple execution in this" Hiyori began, "That and I do want to get even with some people…you need a shinigami or an exile shinigami to guide you on the maze that is Seireitei"

"…So you're an exile…just like Urahara" Ichigo muttered, "Well what do you know? He does have a brain"

"I do as much as you have spunk…surely to compensate your size" Ichigo muttered the last part, "SAY THAT AGAIN!!"

"MIDGET!!"

"BASTARD!"

"BRAT!!"

"OH THAT DOES IT! YOU'RE GOING…"

"Hiyori, Ichigo, enough" both teens stopped even before they could start to argue further when Urahara stepped in, now deadly serious by the looks of it, Ichigo and Hiyori shut up immediately, one knowing that Urahara's goofy act was just a façade, like his father's act, while the other recognized the look as the one of the old Urahara…the one that had saved her of a fate of being a mindless hollow.

"I asked her to come…she is trust worthy so don't worry about anything" Urahara said, "Not to sound ungrateful" Ichigo began, "But why her?" Ichigo said, "Excuse me? You got a problem with me?" Hiyori asked, "Considering that you know Urahara I expected to him knows…I don't know, more ex-shinigamis" Ichigo said.

"Well, to answer your question Ichigo, Hiyori here once served as my lieutenant in my younger days, furthermore she knows Seireitei layout like the palm of her hand, furthermore of all my…exiled friends she was the one less eager to go…so I pick her up"

"That and as Fira put it you want revenge on someone on Seireitei" Ichigo pointed out, "Yeah…well me and the rest of the group, but I was the less prone to get myself killed on combat, I bet the bastard has already forgotten us and will have his guard down"

"Don't underestimate him Hiyori, remember last time someone underestimated him" Urahara said, making the little ex-shinigami girl to sigh in annoyance, "Yeah I know" she answered as she walked to the shop, followed closely by Ichigo, then Orihime and Chad, last but not least Uryuu, leaving Urahara with Yoruichi.

"…Bet ya a year free on my shop and you massaging my glorious body that Ichigo blows half of Seireitei"

"You will have to call me Yoruichi-sama, serve me food whenever I want if Ichigo beats the crap out of Kenpachi, Byakuya and somehow pisses Aizen off"

"You're on"

* * *

It was madness, pure madness, there was no way she would do that, no way in hell, it went against all she knew and stood for, hell her life was in the line, her career mattered little if she died.

But there she was, along with her captain, deep inside the sewers of Seireitei, waiting, expecting, this was madness it is purest form, not to say treason, she had to wonder why her captain had called the captains of the 13th, 11th, 8th, and of course hers, the 4th division, captains and their lieutenants, or in the case of Ukitake, with both his third seats, why she hasn't called the captains and lieutenants of the remaining divisions was still beyond her, but surely it would be clarified soon.

A whole minute Isane and Unohana waited until the timid face of Hanatarou, Unohana's seventh seat poked around one of the corners, "Uh…taichou…I brought them" Hanatarou said, not sooner than that the hulking form of Kenpachi with his small lieutenant perched on his shoulder, Ukitake flanked by his two third seats, and the usually lazy Shunsui and his lieutenant Nanao Ise entered as well, as each captain made their way to the 4th division captain, it was Kenpachi who would break the ice in his special way.

"Dammit woman can't you see is 2 in the friggin morning! When I don't sleep I tend to kill people!" Isane gulped at Kenpachi's declaration, it was know that Kenpachi was like clockwork to sleep, eat and fight, very punctual on those things, and got rather cranky when someone messes with his sleep, reason why no one dares to even make a beep around the 11th division barracks around 9:00 PM, time when Kenpachi went to sleep, last person who did made noise at that and any other hour kinda was found death…if you can count finding just a finger around an obscene amount of blood as death.

"I have my reasons Zaraki-taichou, and I assure you that they are most of your delight when I mention them" Retsu began, her back given to the presents, "…at 6:00 AM today, two spiritual aware humans, an ex-shinigami, the last Quincy, the shinigami Rayearth and a cat are going to enter the Rukongai district, and will attempt to break into Seireitei"

"…I gotta inform this" Nanao muttered loud enough to only her captain hear, or so she thought, even before the shinigami was able to move, she fell to her knees, paralyzed in fear, "Stay Ise-fukutaichou, I don't want to kill you" Retsu boomed, freaking even Kenpachi, who was concerned by the sudden 180° turn of the sweet as honey Retsu to the 'I'm going to kill ya' Retsu.

"Okay…what the fuck?" Kenpachi said, "Language Kenpachi…this is a serious matter, the upcoming Ryoka with a Rayearth are not our main concern" Retsu said, finally turning, her blue eyes focusing on every single shinigami on the room, all gulped slightly by that look that surpassed her already infamous sweet glare.

"…Then what it is?" Shunsui asked, "…Simple…the Gotei 13 has a traitor on its highest rank" Retsu simply said, she could feel the shock of her fellow captains, hell even Kenpachi was surprised, and why not, a traitor among the ranks of the Gotei 13 was unheard off ever since the Gotei 13 was made, true many of the members of the force, captains included were eccentric and overall crazy, but traitors?

"Are you sure Unohana-taichou, this is some serious accusations" Nanao spoke, "I am Ise-fukutaichou, if not then how can you explain the last hundred years of us losing at least four captain class shinigamis, several lieutenants and the captain and lieutenant of the Kidou corps, along with many more shinigamis during isolated incidents"

"…Most of them were judged because they conducted forbidden experiments" Ukitake said, "Judge yes…executed never, all of them escaped or were exiled, not to mention that we lost the son of the king along the ride" Unohana said, "You mean Isshin? Damn he was a worth fight…pity he died" Kenpachi said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"…Isshin Kurosaki lives…and he has a family" Unohana said, "…Come again, did you just said what I think you just said?" Shunsui asked, "(Sigh) Isshin didn't died…he is alive, with just a portion of his real power, widowed, with three children, two girls of perhaps ten years old, and a son of fifteen years old…who is I might add the Rayearth shinigami I mentioned" Retsu mentioned, letting the message sink in.

"…Is that guy Rukia mentioned…Ichigo right?" she nodded at Ukitake's question, "So…Seireitei will be stormed by a Rayearth that turns out to be the guy Kuchiki-taichou wasn't able to kill" Shunsui muttered, "…I say we grab our bags before the Rayearth levels Seireitei"

"TAICHOU!!" Nanao said in alarm, "Relax Nanao-chan, it was a joke"

"One of your worse so far" she said curtly, making all chuckle, "…He's alive…and he got kids…kids with his same strength…" Kenpachi said slowly, almost softly, making all stare at him, he was not known for being…soft spoken.

"Ken-chan?" Yachiru asked slightly worried, poking his face, "…IT SPREADS!!!" Kenpachi all but shouted, throwing his arms to the air, and Yachiru out of his shoulders, "20 of the most boring years of my life finally over!! I must get ready!!" Kenpachi said in glee as he began to pace around, "He had three children, who I should fight first? The eldest of course! He must put an example to his sisters! Then I fight them both! No I fight them all at the same time!!!!"

"Kenpachi…the eldest son is coming alone, the sisters barely comprehend what is reiatsu, and you expect to fight them?" Unohana asked with a raised eyebrow, "Yes! To the death also HAHAHA!!" Kenpachi laughed, making Unohana sigh.

"So…what do you expect of us?" Ukitake asked, "Of Kenpachi…to fight the strongest of the group that goes without saying, of you Ukitake I need you to find something for me, and of Shunsui…I expect you keep Nanao on control and down a little the introduction to a Ryoka who will cross your path…don't kill it, that goes to you Nanao, if you kill him then I assure you that the division, you and your captain will be turned onto glass by the Rayearth…and that will be an act of mercy considering what he can really do" Unohana said firmly, turning around, soon the ears of the shinigami were filled with the sound of robes unraveling, all turned around, going eye wide (specially the males) when they saw the haori of Unohana on the ground, and her upper robes on her waist, the fact they saw the bare back of the most elegant shinigami on all Seireitei was shadowed when they saw what lay beyond her robes.

Perhaps the nastiest and biggest scar they had ever seen was set on her flawless skin, starting from the top of her right shoulder, traveling in a semi diagonal line over her back, ending finally on the left side of her waist.

"This wound was made to me by the Rayearth of wind 300 years ago when I protected Yamamoto-sotaichou of a death blow, this action prevented our demise by the hands of the enraged Rayearth, she healed the affected organs in the attack, then carved an X on the sotaichou's forehead as a reminder of his defeat…don't underestimate the power of a Rayearth knight, Ichigo Kurosaki might only have two weeks' worth of experience on his Rayearth powers, but he is a power to be reckon with…unless you want to bear a scar like mine's, this wound in particular took me 50 years using daily healing Kidou spells to close it, and another 50 years so the tissue could grow back…unless you want to die a horrible death I can't prevent I suggest you all keep the head on the game" Unohana stated firmly, making Ukitake and Shunsui gulp and pale considerably, one combined thought on their minds.

"_Oh crap…her old self is back"_

"Uh…question?" Hanatarou suddenly asked, the eyes of the most powerful shinigami suddenly focused on him, "Yes Hanatarou-kun"

"…Uh…eh…and the other captains?"

"Hate to admit it but the noodle with legs has a point" Kenpachi said, "…They are…either the traitor, in allegiance with the traitor or too loyal to the sotaichou, you all here are trustworthy" she said, "Uh…these two are loyal to the old goat" Kenpachi said to Unohana, pointing at Shunsui and Ukitake.

"They won't say nothing…unless they want me to speak of a little event that occurred 250 years ago a night of December and who only me and Lisa-chan have knowledge off"

"DON'T! WE'LL COOPERATE!" both males all but shouted to Unohana, letting very clear who was the one in charge.

"…So is settled then…take some time to rest…we will need it for what comes ahead of us" she stated finally as she walked away along with Hanatarou and Isane, soon one by one the members of the secret meeting left the point of meeting, each one of them knowing full well the repercussions of this if word came out, hopefully all would end well.

They would only sleep four hours before the alarms broke out.

* * *

If there was a disadvantage of being a lieutenant, besides doing paperwork, was waking at a Kami-forsaken hour to fulfill his duties, that and carrying the paperwork the other seated officers had to do, it doesn't exactly one makes friends when you're the one carrying stacks over stacks of paperwork worth of hours of work.

But all that died out once the alarms began to ring, the wooden tiles marked with several kanji's moved at their own accord in a noisy manner, waking every single shinigami of their slumber.

The alarm was a very special one, compared to others designed by the 12th division, that one in particular was activated when a Senkaimon was illegally opened on the skies of Soul Society, that alone was bad, since there were very things that could open a door, that and perhaps Gargantas made by hollows trying to give themselves a feast on souls of the Rukongai district.

But something felt different, Renji knew well enough that few people knew how to made a Senkaimon, very few, especially with the current happenings on Seireitei and the upcoming execution of Rukia…

Then it him, hard, that Senkaimon was opened by the shinigami that had stole Rukia's power completely, the boy that his captain had failed to kill, the boy that had so much power that it was ridiculous, he was here, on Soul Society, why he didn't knew, but he assumed it was for either revenge or to rescue Rukia.

But either would fail, no one can enter Seireitei, let alone storm it, no one can.

* * *

"The hell is that?" Ichigo all but shouted, he, Orihime, Chad, Uryuu, Hiyori and Yoruichi had entered the homemade Senkaimon Urahara and Tessai had made, and had warned them that the time opened was going to be limited, so they had to run like hell, which were they doing after seeing why Urahara told them that.

The purple walls that seemed made out of a viscous material were closing behind them at a great speed, "Is gaining on us!!" Uryuu shouted, "Stop staring pansy! That is the Kouryuu, if you get caught is game over!" Hiyori screamed as she rushed pass the group, "This never happened when I used a hell butterfly!!" she shouted again, slightly looking back, seeing how Uryuu was trapped by the flow by the cape.

"Dammit you moron, you had to wear that stupid looking cape!!" Ichigo shouted as he reached for Zangetsu, "No, don't do it, the Kouryuu captures spirit particles, your zanpakutou is made of it, if you swing it then it will trap it and you along the way!" Yoruichi shouted, "Okay…then to plan B"

"Plan B?" all asked, their answer came when Ichigo aimed his two fingers at Uryuu, "Telum Incendia!" a blot of flames suddenly was ejected of Ichigo's fingers, sailing fast and hitting the arm that had grabbed Uryuu, burning the arm and part of the cape, as Uryuu began to fall, Ichigo's hand suddenly extended completely, much to Uryuu's shock, he began to float.

"Chad catch!" and then Uryuu flew towards Chad, who receive him and slung him as a sack of potatoes over his shoulder, "Oi Sado-kun stop, I can run perfectly!"

"Right! Like someone is going to buy that lie!" Hiyori said with a smirk, then that smirk died when she and Uryuu saw what came next, "Oh come on!!" she shouted as she ran faster.

"What is that thing!!?"

"Is a Janitor, it passes once every week to cleanse the road, but why it had to pass now?" Yoruichi asked in slight panic, **"Relax, we can outrun it" **

"Easy you to say, you're not running!!" Yoruichi snapped to the bird perched firmly on Ichigo's shoulder, "Keep it up people we are almost there!" Ichigo screamed as he ran also, he was itching on using Ignis, since the weapon was not spiritual originated, but Orihime beat him on the punch, turning around, the busty teen brought her hands to her hairpins, determined to stop the cleaner.

"Hinagiku, Lily, Baigon" she began, three pieces of her hairpins flying away in front of her, "Santen Kesshun" a yellow triangle energy barrier formed in front of her as the janitor seemed to gain up speed, "I reject!!"

**BOOM!!!**

Up in the sky of Rukongai, a glowing square opened, several beams coming out of it violently, crashing onto the ground, or it seemed, as the smoke dissipated, it revealed an unharmed group that was upon the shield Orihime had summoned to stop the cleaner, softening their fall.

"That…was fun" Hiyori muttered as she slowly stood up, dusting herself off, eyeing the oddly shield on her feet, "…Hachi will surely would like to meet ya" she muttered as she stared at the rising Orihime, "Is everyone okay?" Orihime asked, seeing that Chad had landed firmly on his feet, Hiyori had landed on her back, Uryuu on his feet and Ichigo…

"Wow! Kurosaki-kun your landing pose is so artistic!"

"…Don't speak of this again" The less spoken of his landing pose the better.

"That was a really bothersome ride" Uryuu spoke as he dusted his white clothes off, "This was not what I enlisted for" he muttered as he casted his damaged and burned cape, "I can believe I'm using my spare already" he added while pulling an extra cape of his clothes, leaving a shocked Ichigo and Chad who couldn't believe he had brought an extra cape.

"I'm glad all of you are okay" Orihime exclaimed happily, "Okay my ass!!" looking upwards, Ichigo cracked a laugh when he saw Yoruichi being lowered slowly by Fira.

"Do you realize if one of the petals had touched the janitor you would be done for, be thankful the shield was the one touching it" Yoruichi snapped angrily, **"Oh stuff it furball, if it wasn't for her and her flying imps we would be dead, show some gratitude" **Fira said as she flew to Ichigo, landing on his shoulder.

As the smoke settled, all could see the area around them, "…This looks like an Edo era city" Ichigo muttered, "This is Rukongai Ichigo" Yoruichi began, "Soul Society is divided onto two sections, Rukongai, the one we are now is the biggest area of the two know, then the central one, Seireitei, where the shinigami live, Rukongai is filled with the spirits of those passed away, is the poorest sector around, filled with countless residents" Yoruichi said, "Oh…hey that part is different" Uryuu said, pointing at the almost pristine section beyond them, white tiles on the ground and what seemed a more bright city beyond.

"That is the white road pansy, it leads to Seireitei" Hiyori mentioned, suddenly turning to Ichigo…just to see him already rushing at it, "Ba-bakamono! Don't rush blindly, you'll die!!" Yoruichi snapped at the rushing Ichigo who turned to tell her something, but then stopped when suddenly, out of thin air, slabs of stone fell to the ground in front of him, forming a massive wall with an equally massive wooden door, as the smoke and tremors subsided, Ichigo coughed slightly, covering his eyes so the smoke didn't entered his eyes.

"**IS BEEN A LONG TIME"** a loud voice boomed, **"SINCE I HAVE VISITORS"** Ichigo cracked an eye open, spotting out of the smoke and in front of him a mass of a man, taller than any other man know so far, massive in muscles, carrying an axe, clad in shinigami robes as well.

"**DON'T WORRY, I'LL TREAT YOU NICELY"**

On the other side of the wall, a shinigami contingent that was ready to repel the 'Ryoka' as dubbed usually to invaders muttered to themselves, knowing that no one would pass Jidanbou…

"MOVE!!!"

**BOOM!!!**

But that confidence suddenly died out when they saw the doors that Jidanbou protect basically gave in as the hulk of a man was thrown through them, landing right in front of them, pieces of his axe landing next to them, looking in shock, the shinigami saw on the other end what seemed another shinigami, holding a massive zanpakutou in the shape of a cleaver.

"Look at that thing"

"I bet it has no spiritual power in it"

"That…can't be…he defeated Jidanbou"

But two shinigami stared at the newcomer with a more critical eye, they knew (by the rumor mill) about the human who Rukia had granted shinigami powers, orange spiky hair, brown eyes, the mother of all scowls etched on his face, although she never mentioned nothing about a red bird perched on his shoulders.

"**Hmm…I'll give you six for the dramatic shout, nine for the effort"** they blinked when the bird spoke to the other boy, "Oh cut me some slack Fira, I just swung Zangetsu, nothing fancy about it"

"**So modest…I think I'm falling in love"**

"If you ever start molesting me I swear…"

"…Did that bird…spoke?" Kira whispered to Hisagi, the tattooed man looked slightly unraveled as the rest of the shinigami around at the sight of the giant of a man being knocked down like if it was nothing by…

Then it hit him, hard, the rumor mill also spoke that the so called Ichigo was the reason the sotaichou had screamed his lungs out, why? Because it was rumored that Ichigo was in fact a Rayearth knight, and all knew, by the stories that messing with a knight was like annoying a Vasto Lorde, a guaranteed death sentence, or so they say, no one knew if the Rayearth knights in fact existed, some did believe it, others didn't, he was on the non believers…until now.

Shaking his head, Hisagi motioned to the shinigami around him to surround the orange head shinigami, seeing only a few doing as such, not that he could blame them, between sending Jidanbou flying against a Sekkiseki wall, breaking it easily and making it look as anyone could do it he couldn't blame them for fearing him slightly, not even captains were able to break the reiatsu absorbing rock that prevented many shinigami gather reishi on their feet to fight and walk in the air.

"**Hey look, a welcoming party"**

"…You're the only one who would think that armed men surrounding us are in fact welcoming us" many actually thought the same thing, but in the 11th division that was kinda the way their members welcomed strong…guests.

Nevertheless Hisagi knew his mission and so Kira and every single shinigami present, the Ryoka would not pass beyond them, it would not go beyond Seireitei.

"Surrender now Ryoka and we promise the punishment will be less severe compared if you resisted" Hisagi said with authority, he saw how the orange head boy and the bird looked at one another…

"**Oh man that is rich! They actually believe THEY have a CHANCE against you?"**

"Hey let them dream"

That last comment kinda snapped every shinigami of their fear spunk, and riled them up, angrily all but Kira and Hisagi charged at Ichigo who narrowed his eyes at the charging force, no one noticing how his left hand twitched and how the crystal in it slightly gloved.

"I have no time for this"

On the other side of the wall, Uryuu, Orihime, Chad, Hiyori and Yoruichi, specially Hiyori and Yoruichi stared at the hole Ichigo made when he swung Zangetsu at Jidanbou, how the man had flew like nothing after the swing, how the axe shattered upon impact so easily, it was…mind bogging.

"_That…is the power of a Rayearth knight? I can't believe it, he smashed that reiatsu absorbing wall so easily that it made it look like child's play…Shinji I don't know if to kiss ya or hurt ya for letting me come alone and see this" _Hiyori thought to herself as she suddenly pulled her zanpakutou out of its sheath, "What the hell I'm doing here anyway…save some to me!!" Hiyori screamed as she rushed to the hole Ichigo made, leaving the shocked teens still standing there and a cat equally shocked.

"_What he hell we need to plan to, he just needs to turn the place into a gigantic parking lot and we search Rukia in the remains…no, too obvious and time spending" _the cat thought with some amusement, at least now most of her worries died out, if not all, unless the whole Gotei 13 captains decide to welcome them then the rest was going to be a walk in the park, besides one captain at a time can be fought and defeated, not to say the same about the entire captain roster, as long they didn't attract the attention of a captain all would be okay, with that thought in mind she rushed to the hole, the teens in tow…

Only to stop when one of the many shinigami nearly hit Orihime on the head, only ending up as a stamp on the massive walls, Yoruichi, eye twitching, began to mutter a calming mantra, she was not seeing Ichigo lay waste to many shinigamis without any remorse, she did not see Hiyori with her hollow mask on beating another group of shinigami easily, she did not see the red cleaver cut easily zanpakutou blades in their released form like a flaming knife cutting butter, and she did most definitely did not see Fira crying tears of joy while rooting for Ichigo…

"…This is like when the whole 11th and 4th division got drunk and began to brawl at the bar" she muttered bitterly, till this day the bar has not recovered of the apocalyptic fight that oddly ended up in a tie, one thing was certain, Unohana was not the most dangerous drunk know so far, neither Kenpachi…she swore she would kill whoever gave Yachiru and Hanatarou drinks and got them drunk…the horrors she saw that pink imp do would forever haunt her alongside the...obscenities Hanatarou did with the fresh female fukutaichou of Unohana.

Of course on the other side things were slightly different to the defending shinigami who were losing…badly.

"The hell is going on!?" Hisagi screamed as he ducked with Kira on some uprooted chunks of ground lifted by a wayward Kidou spell, "The hell I know Hisagi! He is mauling us!" Kira replied.

"You mean mauling non-seated shinigami whose shikai would not even hurt a low class hollow and cutting their weapons with that red…blade…Kira I have an idea to stop him"

"Really? How about that hollow mask wielding girl?"

"We left her to the captains; we must deal with the inexperienced one"

"He is a Rayearth knight, aren't they suppose to be forces of nature?"

"He has two oversized blades, his balance must be terrible, we release out zanpakutou, I use Kazeshini to bind his right blade and add some cuts on his arm, while he is distracted you use Wabisuke, hit the red blade as much as you can so he drops him, then we can focus on disarming him and capturing him and the rest of the Ryoka" Hisagi said, "…Is solid enough, I'm in game…Raise your head, Wabisuke" Kira exclaimed, releasing his zanpakutou, the normal katana transformed, the blade became straight, while the tip acquired a square like hook design.

"Alright…Reap, Kazeshini" Hisagi said, his blade now transforming into something close to a Kurasigama, each hand held a pole in which the tip held two curbed blades, like sickles but with one inverted, giving it the shape of a fan, both poles were attached to a black chain, nodding at one another, both flash stepped of the ruble, and just in time to see it being blast away by a small red beam fired…by the hollow masked girl.

"I hope a captain comes quickly" Hisagi muttered as he threw Kazeshini at the right arm of Ichigo, with reflexes that Hisagi considered almost unnatural to a non-trained shinigami, Ichigo had raised his zanpakutou, but Hisagi had already him on his trap, slightly moving the chain a little, Kazeshini wrapped around Ichigo's arm and zanpakutou, the blades letting cuts on his arm easily, "Childs game, Kira now!" Ichigo looked at his left, seeing a blonde shinigami rush at him with…a square hooked tipped zanpakutou?

With no time to ponder, Ichigo raised Ignis with the flat blade facing the shinigami, and started to block each one of the wild hits of the shinigami, counting twelve in total, Ichigo saw an opening when the blonde shinigami stopped in utter shock, flipping Ignis, now the sharp edge facing the shinigami, Ichigo brought it upwards, the blade cutting the zanpakutou and the shinigami chest easily, blood pouring of the wound of the wounded shinigami that was send flying away, crashing on the ground, hard, a shocked expression on his face.

"_It can't be…Kira hit his cleaver twelve times, that thing should weight too much to the ground crack on contact, but he swung it easily"_ Hisagi thought as he stared with equal shock at the scene, especially what happened to Kira and Wabisuke, _"Not only that…he cut down his zanpakutou also, that can't be…that can't simply be" _any future thought died out when he felt Ichigo pull Kazeshini, Hisagi looked at the arm of Ichigo, seeing how Ichigo suddenly aimed two fingers at him.

"Telum Incendia!" Ichigo shouted, a bolt of fire suddenly flied at a surprised Hisagi who received the attack straight in the chest, making him lose his grip on Kazeshini, sending him flying away, crashing on the ground hard, smoke coming out of his chest, his robes on that part burned, out, and skin burned also.

"_That…hurt"_ were Hisagi's last thoughts as he was claimed by the land of unconsciousness, meanwhile Ichigo uncoiled the chain and blade of his arm, not even bothering to check the cuts on his arm, being resilient to pain did paid off.

"Okay…that was interesting" Ichigo muttered as he saw the mass of a man known as Jidanbou slowly stand up, holding the remains of his axe, **"THAT…WAS UNEXPECTED" **the hulk of a man said, slowly rising up, **"I DID NOT EXPECT YOUR ATTACK TO BE SO FAST, I COMMEND YOU" **Jidanbou said, **"NEVERTHELESS I CAN'T LET YOU SIMPLY PASS BECAUSE YOU TRIPPED ME BY SURPRISE" **when Jidanbou rose his axe to Ichigo, he noted the damage dealt to his instrument, **"MY…MY AXE"**

Ichigo rose and eyebrow as the giant of a man began to weep about his axe, almost like a little boy who got his favorite toy trashed, "Uh…sorry for your axe?" Ichigo muttered, seeing that his attempts to console the giant were in vain, "…Okay dude enough, yes I broke your axe but that is no reason to cry, you can always fix it" Ichigo said, seeing how Jidanbou looked at Ichigo with some apprehension.

"**SUCH…" **Ichigo tensed up, **"SUCH CHIVALRY!" **the man boomed as he tried to hug Ichigo, just to the orange haired boy to back up slightly, **"NEVER I HAVE MET SOMEONE WHO WOULD CARE FOR HIS ENEMY WELLFARE"**

"Uh…is just can't stand to see a man crying…especially one as large as you…is not right"

"…**YOU'RE RIGHT, I CANNOT CRY, I AM A MAN"**

"Right…" Ichigo muttered, **"AS SUCH I CANNOT SKULL AND ACT AS A BRATY CHILD BECAUSE I LOST…YOU CAN PASS"**

"**That…is a little redundant now" **Fira mentioned, one of her wings pointing the hole that Jidanbou massive body had made upon flight, **"UH…YEAH, SURE, NEVERTHELESS IS SOMEHTING I HAVE TO DO, I HAVE BEEN THE GATEKEEPER OF THE WHITE ROAD FOR OVER 300 YEARS, AND SO FAR I HAVE ONLY LOST ONCE IN MY LIFE"**

"**Oh…a matter of pride, I respect that, men like you are few to find, let alone snag"**

"**I AM FLATTERED, THOUGH YOU'R FRIENDS SHOULD FOLLOW AS WELL, THAT WALL WILL RECONSTRUCT IN THE MATTER OF MINUTES"**

"Say what?" Ichigo asked, **"Ichigito, the stone the wall there is made of a highly reiatsu absorbing material, while rare here, it makes it up for its ability to reassemble itself after an extreme non-reiatsu damage, like you throwing big guy here as a ball, in the matter of minutes the wall will reconstruct itself out of its remains and the reiatsu you keep leaking out like mad"**

"Goody" Ichigo muttered, suddenly turning to Jidanbou, "So…no hard feelings?"

"**WHY? YOU FOUGHT AS A WARRIOR, YOUR REASONS AS FOR WHY YOU WANT TO GET INSIDE STILL ELUDE ME, YET I WILL NOT INTERFERE, AS A GATEKEEPER I FOUGHT AND LOSS, SO YOU CAN PASS…" **as Jidanbou turned and Ichigo did the same to tell his friends to do come, he felt suddenly…odd.

"_This is strange…oddly strange…it feels like…"_

"_**Like a captain"**_

"_Fira?"_

"_**Yes I can talk in your mind while outside, we are kinda bonded, and yes you can feel the captain, how let's just say that as I explained before, even the shinigami have an inner fire, that which you can feel, control, even augment, given the time you can even bring people back from certain death…if their inner flame is not completely extinguished"**_

"_I can bring back the…" _Ichigo eyes narrowed suddenly, his right arm suddenly shooting to a nearby house, forcing part of the wall off the house and into a random spot on the ground, no one understood why until they saw something jump away of the wall trajectory.

"My, my what manners you have" Ichigo narrowed his eyes, unknown to him Hiyori also narrowed her eyes, her mask slowly vanishing away, "Dickhead…we should pull back" Hiyori began, "…I'm not much into retreating" Ichigo muttered, he cared little if he was facing another captain, he was not going to back…

"**GUUHHH" **that line of thought died out when Ichigo turned to see Jidanbou clutching his armored left arm, blood pouring out of a cut that was made on his massive forearm, "Jidanbou! Pull back, into the gate now!" Ichigo all but shouted to the giant who was clutching his arm off, seeing how Jidanbou was petrified, Ichigo forced another telekinetic blast, this one aimed at the giant, forcing Jidanbou out into the air slightly and into the now rearmed door.

"Protecting him? I never thought you would do this" Ichigo narrowed his eyes when he spotted the figure of the attacker of Jidanbou, short white hair, eyes closed and a strangely creepy smile on his face, it seemed like a fox face, the rest the same on a captain, as he saw on Unohana, a white haori under black robes, his zanpakutou tied to the obi on his robes, slowly approaching him.

"So…you're the Rayearth Unohana-taichou failed to kill" the shinigami said, his grin never leaving his face, "Maybe, what's it for you?" Ichigo asked, "Oh not much, we have explicit orders…you and everyone with you dies…including him" the captain pointed at Jidanbou.

"…You are a sad little man" Ichigo pointed out, making the captain raise an eyebrow and Yoruichi's jaw to hang loose.

"Following orders…like a puppet…even attacking your own…you sicken me" Ichigo said, "Shut up Ichigo, this is a captain you're speaking against, and they can kill you if you keep badmouthing him!" Yoruichi snapped at Ichigo, who simply ignored her warning, he had already survived an emo looking captain and the ex of his dad, both betraying what they really believed, if he survived them then he can damn survive this one.

"My you have a mouthful of ideas" the captain said, "Believing that you are right and I'm wrong because I aim to kill Jidanbou…don't fool yourself, things run differently here you know, he failed and he is allowing people like you in"

"**I LOST FAIRLY, I HAVE TO LET HIM IN, I GUARD THE GATE, AND WHEN A GUARDIAN LOOSES THEN HE ALLOWS THE VICTOR TO PASS" **Jidanbou said, "Wrong, a gatekeeper that looses…is a dead one" the captain said, in less than a blink, Ichigo was already over him, Ignis and Zangetsu over his head, swinging both blades fast and hard over the captain, the captain only pulled his zanpakutou, a wakizashi and blocked both blades, yet the captain and Ichigo did observed a small dent made where Zangetsu and Ignis impacted over the blade, and the captain, more to his shock hear how the spirit of his zanpakutou cried in pain suddenly, breaking contact with both blades, the captain took several steps back, inspecting his slightly dented zanpakutou.

"_Now this is odd, I have never heard Shinsou cry in pain when a zanpakutou collided against him, most interesting…and disturbing" _the captain thought with mirth, turning his back to Ichigo, "H-hey! Where are you going!?"

"Nowhere" the captain said as he took a great distance between him and Ichigo, "Really…you want to throw that wakizashi to me at that distance?" Ichigo wondered, "No…Shoot to kill" Ichigo suddenly felt an incredible amount of reiatsu crash over him, yet he felt unaffected by it, he was surprised however by the amount poured out…

Eyes widening, Ichigo was suddenly in front of Jidanbou, Ignis and Zangetsu forming a X in front of Ichigo, "Shinsou" suddenly the small wakizashi blade extended while glowing white, like a spear, aimed at Ichigo and Jidanbou, _"Is coming too fast, I can't stop it with brawn alone…"_

"_**Sheezz you have unlimited access to the magic attacks used by rayearths before you, use them!!"**_

"_Well sorry I don't know to reach for such thing! You never taught me that!"_

"_**Just focus…reach into your mind, into your soul…you know the name, how is done, you just have to remember"**_

Doing as told, Ichigo focused, closing his eyes, true it was not exactly the best moment to do that, but hell when is a good time to do something, to some people they focus on the worse kind of scenarios, this was the case of Ichigo, that in that moment of pressure was able to reach a level of awareness that he never reached, then opening his eyes in a flash, he slammed his right foot on the ground, and called the name of his new spell.

"Magma Parietis!" Ichigo shouted, to the sudden astonishment of the white haired captain, several walls of lava suddenly sprouted out of the ground, directly on the path of the glowing blade, each wall was pierced by the blade, but by each wall impacted, the speed of Shinsou decreased, but it wasn't enough, the blade suddenly impacted on Ichigo's crossed cleavers, lifting him away, then impacting on Jidanbou's stomach, hard, both were lifted and send away towards the gate, crashing on the street outside the wall with a mighty crash that lifted air.

Ichigo coughed blood slightly, then flipped in mid-air and landed on the ground near Jidanbou, while his friends rushed at him, Hiyori and Yoruichi crossed eyes with the smirking captain, who just waltzed to the mere entrance of the massive door, the walls now fully fixed and the door falling, "Dammit the gate!" Uryuu shouted, not knowing if to go with Ichigo or dash at the gate, but with the extremely powerful shinigami on the other side…

"Dammit!" he cursed as he rushed to the kneeling Ichigo, noticing that Fira, the bird was still firmly perched on his shoulder, even after such attack.

Almost tauntingly the captain stopped on the edge of the gates, and as the gate was half-way of his chest, he slightly bended, and waved them all mockingly, "Bye-bye" then the gate closed abruptly, leaving a very angry Ichigo who was seeing red, in the most literal sense of the word, and was wishing he could burn the ass of the bastard.

Fira by her part smirked on her mind, knowing that Ichigo had, without knowledge, did what he wanted with the captain, with a special kind of flames.

* * *

Gin smirked even more as the door closed, oh how he loved to screw people's heads, it was so fun that it should be criminal to do it…and that could happen considering that central 46 kinda like to make rules out of the blue, but with them…indisposed at the moment he had little to worry about a law that ruined his favorite pastime on prisoners.

Turning around, he spotted the spots were the magma like walls came out, he had to hand it over to the Ryoka Ichigo, that was a very defensive and offensive technique, if had been someone charging at him, using that as a way to stall an opponent would not only do that, but cause burns yet to be classified, after all lava kind of burns are not exactly too friendly with nothing

Walking away towards were his lieutenant lay, hurt but pretty much alive, he had to wonder how powerful the Ryoka was, he had alone dealt with at least a dozen of shinigami alone, and two lieutenants, but he had to wonder another thing, what was Hiyori doing around the Ryoka, last he knew the order to kill her and the others was still standing, something was up, it couldn't be that the Kuchiki girl had some value, it couldn't be that the Ryoka were here to just save her, it was…stupid, illogical, yet who he is to judge, after all who in its sane judgment leaves a blind guy become a shinigami, and no he doesn't hates Tousen…is just that whenever he swings that thing he feel he might cut an ally by mistake, yet the guy is more skilled than other shinigamis he knew.

"Ichimaru-taichou! You're on fire!" Gin let that praise dig deep in him, he was on a roll of course, he is a captain dammit, "Why thank you, you all did well as well" he answered to the shinigami who praised him.

"Uh…no taichou" Kira began, "He means you are ON fire…more specifically…your ass is on fire" Gin made an odd face, slowly turning around, seeing how his butt was engulfed on a yellow gold flame, "…This is new" he muttered, eyes widening when the yellow flames suddenly grew in proportions in the matter of seconds, consuming him to the horror of his lieutenant, but that horror became something else after the flames died out almost instantly and with the arrival of Unohana and her lieutenant.

"…Ichimaru-taichou…I didn't knew you had a mole on your right cheek" that's right, the flames consumed all the flammable attire of Gin, underwear included, Isane was covering her eyes while attending Hisagi, while Kira was attended by Unohana.

"Man…Rangiku was right all along, she did saw him naked" Kira muttered, seeing how his captain walked away, using his zanpakutou to cover his unmentionables, the fact the flames died out with a sound that was female and said 'My bitch' didn't help either with the situation.

"_I swear…if I see that bastard again…I'm going to bifurcate his ass!!!"_

* * *

Night had fallen on Rukongai, after the first failed attempt to enter Seireitei, and the subsequent rescue of Jidanbou of a certain and bloody death, the people of Rukongai had actually welcomed Ichigo and company, most of them did it because Jidanbou was of Rukongai and treated many if not all people there with respect, had gained them their good trust, that and Orihime's ability to heal wounds easily with her hairpins, something Ichigo didn't knew, also helped, it also helped that most of them believed that Ichigo was in fact a rebel shinigami, most residents of Rukongai said that the shinigami there were bullies, arrogant and power blinded, caring little for the people outside Seireitei, true there were exceptions but were few exceptions that were overshadowed by the actions of the remaining shinigami.

Currently the group was staying on the house of the elder of Rukongai, as a way to thank them, especially him and Orihime for saving and healing Jidanbou respectively, Chad had just returned after hanging around with a kid for almost all day, carrying him over his shoulders, while Uryuu and Yoruichi remained with the elder, Fira of course remained with him, perched over his shoulder…a far more welcoming version of the stern Yoruichi.

"**So Ichigito, want to know more about your new addition to your arsenal?" **Fira asked, the group simply waited for Yoruichi, who had left for a little while, had also heard what she said, and was kinda wondering what she meant, as far as they knew they didn't saw nothing out of the ordinary, besides Ichigo splitting zanpakutous like twigs with Ignis or launching a man that can easily weight 3 tons like a ball onto a wall that is supposed to be almost indestructible.

"Yeah, I do want to know as well" Uryuu said with a slight condescending tone, **"Watch that tone Quincy, I can well enough end the work the shinigami started with even ten times the brutality and efficiency they can even muster" **Fira snapped, making Uryuu narrow his eyes at her, "Enough both of you, Fira don't threaten people like nothing, and you Uryuu, she is right, watch the tone, it can be easily confused by something else" Ichigo said seriously, true he doesn't know Fira well enough, but he knows well enough that Fira can and will carry her menace easily, as she explained she is kinda close to the powers of a true deity, so it would be better not to piss her off.

"He is right Quincy" Hiyori said, "Rayearth knights are considered and seen as the limit of power a mortal can reach, even shinigami have a limit, and are mortals as well, Fira on the other hand is a guardian, is a being way out of the league of shinigami and Quincy standards, a power that is close to the one of a god, far surpassing the one of the king of Soul Society" _"Or Queen" _"All Seireitei would be butchered without mercy if a guardian decided to fight with all their strength, trust me not even a Vasto Lorde inspire so much fear that a guardian fully unleashing their power" Hiyori said, **"My you're making me blush" **Fira said with a teasing tone, making Hiyori blush slightly.

"Okay enough with the teasing, Fira what do you mean by new power?" Ichigo asked, **"Simple, as a Rayearth knight you and the other knights are given the control of the elements, wind, water and fire, this, along with earth are the base elements for life on a world, light and darkness are elements that not even the knights touch due to their divinity status as creators of the known universe, then we have the sub-elements, elements that branch of the main elements, thunder comes of the sky, the domain of wind, ice is a sub-product of water and therefore a secondary element, then is lava, or magma, which can naturally be spoken as the wrath of the world surfacing, fire is considered an element of passion, power, rage and other extreme feelings, both good and bad, so is natural you can control the lava, even in places where it doesn't exist at all" **Fira began, "Such power…no living being should posses so much power" Ishida muttered slightly shocked.

"**You're not the first person to ever believe this, but believe me when I tell you that is needed, there must be a balance among forces, Rayearth knights are the balance force on the living realm, while shinigami, speaking in the literal sense of every single death god know on the universe, are the keepers of the balance of the world of the death" **

"Whoa hold on, more shinigami?" Uryuu asked, **"But of course, one death god for each living world, powerful, no force a living being can create, with the exception of the Rayearth knights and another death god can oppose them, this world of course is the exception to the rule, this is a society of shinigami and spirits, all living together, though I admit with its flaws, this society stems of the fact hollows exist on a monumental quantity on a pocket realm attached to Ichigo's world know as Hueco Mundo, all worlds have hollows, but in lesser numbers, and when I mean lesser I mean I can count then with just one hand, their number never go beyond five, and they spend most of their time hiding of the shinigami of that world, most of fear for what they might face, also in some worlds they can be seen normally, without the need of being spiritual aware, and the living people there has developed ways to stall them or imprison them on a place so the death god of that world can purify them or send them to the underworld deepest hole"**

"Yet here things are different" Ichigo said, **"Yes, Hiyori here is an example of an average shinigami, a spiritual strong spirit trained in the arts of slaying hollows, manipulating her inner energy to cast powerful spells, far more resilient than any flesh made being…and of course a high tolerance to alcohol and huge stamina reserves on bed"**

"FIRA BY THE GODS STOP DOING THAT!!" Ichigo shouted, seeing how her comment made the teens blush heavily, **"So naïve and cute! Oh yeah I'm going to enjoy staying here for a good time"**

"Fira…head in the game" Ichigo hissed, **"Oh yeah your new powers, well as you saw you can actually manipulate lava, this of course stems of your Rayearth powers, with time you can manipulate lava without the need to cast a spell, then we have another fire you recently used"**

"Another one?" Ichigo asked, **"Yes, you control fire, all known fires, didn't I explained this to you before?"**

"Yeah but I'm still kinda getting used to it" Ichigo confessed, not even noticing the looks of his friends and the elder, **"Well, the fire you used, without you even seeing it is known simply as gold fire, this fire origins comes of a bizarre creature, even to crystalian standards know as the Minotore, a bizarre mixture of creatures, legs of a wolf, tail of a snake, arms of an ice giant, the torso of a meta-shark, a half-human half-shark creature, head of a bull and with the eyes of an average eagle, how that thing came to be only Draconax knows, and even he doesn't speak much of it"**

"A…I kinda got lost on the snake tail part" Hiyori muttered, **"Can't blame ya there, the creature, alone speaking is disturbing enough, seen is something that you will remember forever, as I was saying, the fire comes of the creature, or better said its blood, believe it or not the Minotore is a peaceful creature, despite its disturbing look and strength, but it was discovered, by an accidental kill of one of these creatures, that their blood is way different than any know blood, is volatile, meaning that pretty much that gasoline flows on their veins, not only that, when manufactured and properly mixed with chemicals it can make gold"**

"SAY WHAT!?" all shouted, **"Yep, the blood of a Minotore is as valuable as a diamond, even more, this blood gold is far stronger and valuable than average gold, because of this they became hunted, and caused them to act violently, and to discover another trait of the Minotore…when angered they spit their own blood, the odd thing is that when mixed with the natural pheromones made when angry causes the blood to become extremely volatile, even more when exposed to oxygen it causes it to ignite, there the fire, now this fire is unique because it can't kill"**

"A fire…that can't kill…odd" Chad said, **"Yeah, their natural gentleness causes this effect, but nothing is harmful, is a natural law, a tree might be immobile but it can still hurt if someone walks onto one and crashes into it, the Minotore's fire burn anything non-alive, clothes, weapon, concrete, anything caught on its flame is burn to not even ashes, also it has the distinct ability to add a Minotore's roar, or in your case my voice yelling to that captain my bitch as he was consumed by the flames and left naked in front of his subordinates, humiliated because we had the last laugh" **Fira laughed, soon joined by Ichigo.

"**And also that fire is one of the very few fires that don't require a test so you can wield it" **Fira mentioned, catching Ichigo's attention, seeing the serious look (as serious a bird stare can be) he tried to summon the gold like fire, flicking his right hand, Ichigo saw with some amazement how the was able to form a single gold like ball of fire on his hand, barely of the size of a baseball, burning with its own light, as soon the ball was formed, Ichigo extinguished it by closing his hand over the fireball.

"Well…burning their clothes and getting them naked will surely distract them" Ichigo said, "But zanpakutou can't be destroyed by this right?" Fria nodded, **"Zanpakutou are sentient beings as well, as much the flames burn their spiritual avatar clothes, nothing else, if they had clothes of course, most zanpakutou spirits are animals, or objects, or a hybrid between both, few zanpakutou are humanoid" **Fira said, "I see…so I will have to rely on Zangetsu and Ignis to actually win a combat against them right?"

"**Yep, Ignis, being a Rayearth weapon can cut trough anything, there are few exceptions of course, another Rayearth weapon, the soul armor of a Rayearth, a shinigami captain zanpakutou, the metal know as adamantium and the crystalian gem know as diamantinum, the strongest mineral know in the universe, those are the few exceptions, of course a zanpakutou is as resistant as its bearer, another trade of Ignis that you don't know is that Ignis can't kill human beings, this stems of your inability to kill a living being like the blades of the current rayearths, but as them the blade can wound and kill other beings such as hollows, shinigami, energy based creatures and most important creatures of the Dark Lord"**

"The…Dark Lord? Do you refer to the overlord that waged war on Crystalia long ago?" all turned around, seeing Yoruichi walk in, **"Yes…as far as I know the Rayearth of the wind has already faced two creatures of the Dark Lord, the wraiths, and already disposed of them, the Rayearth of water is currently stalked by the berserker and the blaster and has dealt with the witch, while the…successor of the queen is being observed by the second most dangerous being know in the arsenal of the Dark Lord…the slasher, a female version of the berserker on a far more dangerous scale"**

"While I have dealt with the leech" Ichigo said with complete hate lacing the sentence, **"Yes, these attacks are no random however, several…replacements of the Rayearth of water were killed by one of the enemies of that Rayearth, leaving him as the last Rayearth of water, and the only one with replacements, neither you nor the Rayearth of wind have replacements, and with the untimely death of the replacements of the Rayearth of water leads me to believe that you and the others won't have it so easily like the ones before you"**

"How come?" Orihime asked, **"Simple my blimp size breast friend"**

"FIRA!!!"

"**Someone doesn't want the knights to come to Crystalia, so whoever is attacking them is doing it when they are most vulnerable, still unable to master their full power, this could be either one of the followers of the Dark Lord…or another person entirely"**

"Nevertheless we should worry about that later, the only thing you should worry here is the shinigami and any patrol send to Rukongai to look for us" Yoruichi said, "Yeah, and considering the story of the leader of the shinigami with the rayearths" Ichigo muttered, "Then is settled…elder…do you know where Kuukaku Shiba is currently living?" Yoruichi asked.

"Y-you can't actually think of using…that?" the elder shuttered, "I am" Yoruichi said, "Why don't we try the frontal approach again, Kurosaki-san is a Rayearth knight, meaning he is on a league far different than any other shinigami, or we can try another gate" Uryuu suggested.

"Impossible, it would take us 13 days roughly counted to reach either gate on the sides, time Kuchiki-san doesn't has" Yoruichi said, ignoring the low rumble that was heard at a far, "To that end we will look for a friend of mine" the rumble became slightly louder.

"A friend of yours?" Orihime asked, slightly wondering if Yoruichi's friend was also a cat, or another talking animal of sorts, "Yes, Kuukaku Shiba is our best gamble to reach Seireitei" Yoruichi said, now noticing, like the rest.

"…I don't like how that sounds" Ichigo muttered, no less than a second later the doors of the house came down when someone entered, rather clumsy they might add, followed then by a big boar with a red bow, "Okay…I'm officially stunned" Ichigo muttered.

"…Ganju…" the elder muttered as he saw the man identified as Ganju slowly rise of the mess he caused, "Yosh! Old man how are you doing?" Ganju began, "Ganju what are you doing here?"

"Oh come on old man I'm hurt, I here decide to visit you and you welcome me like…" Ganju said as he finally saw the people inside the room, "Ah visits…eh?" Then he noticed Ichigo, "…old man…what is this…shinigami doing here?" Ganju began, pointing at Ichigo, "He is not…" but Ganju cared little for that.

"What is a damn shinigami doing here?"

"What?" Ichigo asked, Ganju then closed to Ichigo, "I asked" Ganju then palmed Ichigo's cheek slightly, "What is a damn and dumb shinigami doing here?"

"Huh?"

"Huh? Don't make me repeat myself you dumb…"

**BAMM!!!**

Ganju went flying away when Ichigo's left fist met his face, hard, much to the shock of Ichigo's friends, "…He got a nice left hook" Hiyori muttered to Yoruichi, "How you dare to hit me you bastard? Are you looking for a fight?"

"Shut up bastard! That's my line!"

And not sooner than that they began to argue, rather loudly.

"I can't believe it, old man do something instead of drinking tea!!" Uryuu said, "…I knew this would happen with Ganju" the elder said, "Who is he anyway?" Uryuu asked, noticing this, Ganju rose up, "You mean you don't know me?"

"I don't know you" Uryuu said as he rose his glasses dramatically.

"I don't know you" Orihime said sweetly.

"I don't know you" Chad said simply.

"You're not worth it" Hiyori muttered with a smirk.

"**Another ugly man not worth of knowing" **Fira said, much to the shock of Ganju.

"I don't want to know you" Ichigo said.

"Then I shall introduce myself…I am Ganju, and I am the number one shinigami hater of Rukongai west!" the man introduced himself with pride.

Deep in his head, Ichigo could feel the migraine forming already, and he could already see it, things just got far more complicated.

* * *

_there you have it people, another chapter coe and gone, now before anything else as you have noticed, Ichigo's attacks are spoken in latin, or as much latin an online traductor can allow me, some words in latin have more ways to saying it when looked, like fire, it has four laten words, four ways of saying it, so i kinda settled with the one the traductor gave me, so don't get mad with me for it, and if you have any doubts about what it actually means wait for the next chapter, i'll post there the english meaning of each word, now for the usual preview of the next chapter..._

**We always seek help...**

"That...can't be a house..."

**Sometimes the help we seek comes of unexpected sources...**

"IT'S YOU, BOAR-MAN!!!"

**Sometimes help comes when we don't need it...**

"Where is Taichou...everyone says he's at y side...but i don't see him"

**And sometimes we just wish help could come once in time...**

"Ken-chan...is that way!"

**Or had a sense of direction...**

**in the next chapter of Rayearth Knights: ichigo the inferno, Cannonball...**

"Now...since you're a reiatsu monster...i might pull something...extra powerful for the occasion"

**Kami have pity on poor ichigo...**

* * *

_till a next time people, Hypn0s signs off!!_


	6. 5: Cannonball

_hello! my friends I am Back, after...how much i was out? ah who cares, Hypn0s is back again with another chapter of 'Ichigo the Inferno' part of the rayearth saga, now i know i have been a little absent of my duties as writter, but well with college and all that, and the weather here in bogota isn't helping, one day is sunny and the other is a s dark and cloudy in ways you can't imagine, damn fenomeno del niño._

_In any case i bring you antoher chapter, i worked on this one quite much, is perhaps my longest chapter yet in the story (i think) and while it contains little action, it does contain a lot of information of what will happen, and some spoilers for other chapters, so don't hate me for some things okay people, i'm just the writter of this story, I acceptr suggestions._

_now for a topic, someone said that ichigo was getting awfully strong rather fast, yes that's true, but considering that he is the main character, pretty much the punching bag of every bad guy, then goes and transform onto something and kicks ass, that's kinda a mute point, yet i know many of you would want him see lay waste on Aizen before time and leave his face as a chewed hamburger, that won't happen, but he WILL show Aizen that he is an enemy to not be triffle with._

_now enough talk, let's get this show on the road people._

* * *

**CHAPTER 5: CANNONBALL**

Dawn broke over Rukongai, a massive shadow looming over the district boarding Seireitei due to the massive wall around the court of pure souls, near the entrance Jidanbou slept like a baby with a V8 engines at full throttle replacing his lungs, making an unholy snoring sound, well sure as hell beats sleeping near Ichigo and Fira, while many neighbors wondered why the usually cold morning was replaced by a warm one, Ichigo's friends had a solid idea of why the warm day.

They found out, a little late they might add, that between Ichigo and Fira they release enough body heat to cook a chicken on its own juice, not to mention how uncomfortable they felt over the night while sleeping near Ichigo or Fira, Yoruichi had idly commented it was like sleeping on a sauna, at first you feel fine, then after some time you feel the effects of the heat on your body as you slowly lose body fluids and dry yourself at an alarming rate, such was the heat emanated of Ichigo and Fira that they had to sleep outside, taking turns because the house suddenly became so hot and saturated with heat that it was impossible to even walk in without feeling like stepping onto hell itself, let alone sleep.

The fact that Ichigo had felt rather agitated last night didn't help with things either.

Last night the self proclaimed 'shinigami hater' Ganju had attacked Ichigo, Ichigo of course wasn't going to be left pushed aside by the man so he retaliated, several times over, the elder had of course tried to stop Ganju with words, saying that Ichigo was no 'bad shinigami' but Ganju replied that he cared little, a shinigami was a shinigami to him and there was not such a thing as good or bad one, and would not allow any shinigami roam on Rukongai west, three seconds later Ichigo had answered with a swift kick to the stomach, followed by a telekinetic small to the ground, the match there had degenerated to a single brawl, which had ended when one of the goons with Ganju and carrying a clock as a backpack signaled him in panic that it was 9:00 sharp, and they were in trouble.

After that Ganju left on his boar 'Bonnie-chan' who tackled him several times over away, meanwhile he mocked Ichigo, calling him coward and that he would deal with him later and warned him to not run away, this, to someone of the temper of Ichigo that had made him infamous on his school, was a damn challenge and punt to the gut, Ganju had mocked him, taunted him, Ichigo doesn't stand for neither of this, this is the reason Ichigo had been so angry and had basically went to sleep while boiling, hence the reason the heat, and why Fira had done the same…

Well let's just say that Ganju made the worse mistake by calling her 'a waste of feathers' Fira took that offense very personal, and she spend fifteen minutes in cursing Ganju in ways that had left the teens ears bleeding, not for the tone of her voice, but for the amount of curses she spat in the span of fifteen minutes…on a bright note Hiyori learned many creative words that night, while she would have rather read about them, listening them all of the mouth of a guardian made it worth.

The day had come and so the group had walked away to the last know direction of Kuukaku Shiba's home, while Ichigo wanted to stay and wait for Ganju so he could burn him to the marrow, he had to remind himself they had no time to waste, Rukia had no time at all, her days were counted if they didn't stop her execution, a man as stupid as Ganju was of no consequence for Ichigo and therefore not worth waiting.

"_**Say…ichigito" **_Fira began on Ichigo's mind, albeit her physical form was still perched on Ichigo's shoulder, _**"What you will do after you rescue Rukia…I mean what after that, is obvious the shinigami will not stand for that and will chase you and Rukia, whenever you go"**_

"_That's bull Fira and you know it, Hiyori is an exile, hell my dad was believed dead, they don't care if that happens, once we cross back to the human world they will stop chasing her"_

"_**True, they don't check on things, kinda lame if you ask me, but trust me that if central 46 gives the order then they will chase Rukia until every shinigami dies by your blade or you and Rukia dies"**_

"_Central 46? What the hell is that?"_

"_**Not what, but who, central 46 is a council selected by the King of soul society to oversee the Gotei 13 and keep things in line, their word is law, only the king can overrule their laws and commands, not even the sotaichou holds that kind of political power"**_

"_How come you know this? I mean you barely stick to rules and all, you say it yourself"_

"_**True, but the fact I barely stick to the rules doesn't mean I don't know them at all, I know each rule made in every know world, some are good, some plainly suck, simply as that, I know every political body, most of them are corrupt, central 46 is no exception, they are extremist when it comes to deal with punishment, you saw what Hiyori had on her face during the fight right? A hollow mask"**_

"_Yes…what of it"_

"_**Having hollow powers is alone a taboo that mustn't be, let alone to shinigami, beings who kill hollows, she and some others acquired these powers by…and accident, but this didn't stopped central 46 at all, no shinigami must have hollow powers, my advice ichigito is that once you save Rukia and all that, you mustn't relate with soul society anymore, only relate with Rukia, Urahara, Hiyori and her friends, kill hollows and wound gravely any shinigami that comes to Karakura town, they will not come with good intentions, deal with them fast and painfully too, that will send a message to central 46 to not fuck with us at all"**_

"_Oookay…is clear…crystal clear"_ Ichigo assured Fira, eyes looking around the green fields that was the outskirts of Seireitei, "I never thought that the afterlife looked like this" Orihime whispered, "Everyone thinks the same girl" Hiyori began, "Is not something new, while I admit that Rukongai could do better with some comfy beds and perhaps a radio station" she confessed, "Time here moves at a slower pace that anyone of you can imagine" Yoruichi said, "Hiyori here has over a hundred years, yet she looks like a girl of barely fourteen years old with a deficit of height"

"HEY!"

"Yeah…that woman, Unohana, she told me that she and the sotaichou had fought the last Rayearth knight seen over 300 years ago and lost badly" Ichigo said, "Can't say I'm not surprised" Yoruichi muttered, "Shocked yes, Unohana and Yamamoto are the oldest and most powerful shinigami around, the fact alone that they saw a Rayearth is proof enough of their longevity, but being defeated by one speaks monuments of the power of a Rayearth knight" Yoruichi said.

"**Yeah…I do remember Anima telling me something about his Rayearth of that time, a girl if I'm not wrong, perhaps the strongest Rayearth of wind that ever came to be with the possible exception of the current Rayearth, she had a short temper, but was a good girl, if I remember correctly, she tried to turn the hollow of her husband into a plus, so he could enter into the afterlife, so she could visit him every day on her dreams, then when the moment came that she died they could share the afterlife together…then the old fool came and killed the hollow in mid-way…that caused the soul to fragment and the spirit died, completely, there was no cycle of rebirth, simply said the soul died of the world…suffice to say that a mega-hurricane formed that day along with a storm only seen in the days of the Great War by the Rayearth of that time…those two got out easily" **Fira mentioned.

"You say that the soul died out of the world…how can that happen?" Uryuu asked, **"Simple, unlike Quincy, who kill hollows, causing their spiritual particles to disperse, while they are not purified, the particles find a use on the world, becoming something else, life is formed of the ashes of death, as long there are ashes to come out of, that's the main principle of rebirth, a base, what Yamamoto did that day was to destroy the particles, nothing survived, not even a small particle, effectively killing the soul of that world, the shinigami always rush onto things without seeing the bigger picture and studying further, seeing beyond what their eyes see, seeing underneath the underneath, a basic ninja principle, the Quincy slaughter was unjustified, mostly driven by ignorance and by fear"**

"Fear?" Chad wondered, **"Of course, with a steady combat force positioned on the living world, shinigami wouldn't be needed in the human world as much as needed, the particles of the hollows destroyed by the Quincy's would inevitably find their way to reassemble onto something else, thus giving life once again, they didn't saw that, they saw instead was a bunch of humans with illegal powers, powers that no human should have…in Crystalia the Quincy would have been mostly welcomed…yet their lives and times lay on massive books on the library of a thousand floors…with a bloodstained cover thanks to the shinigami of this world" **Fira mentioned, making Hiyori and Yoruichi to look thoughtful at that.

"_Calm down Hiyori, that happened long before your time girl, you have nothing to be ashamed off…there is not Quincy blood on your hands…there is not innocent blood on your hands"_

"So…there are many other world dead people here?" Orihime asked, **"Goodness no, each world has their own afterlife, only hell is big enough to house the combined evil souls of the universe, mostly because all those souls die a month later after entering, those who succumb to hell can't enter the cycle of rebirth, those who were able to withstand the torments of hell and therefore purged their mortal sins can enter the cycle of rebirth, trust me, that is a low rate" **Fira began, **"Each world has their own afterlife, separated from one another, only the Rayearth of wind and Anima can cross those worlds freely, the Rayearth of wind is also known as the biggest blackmailer because he or she can talk with the ones on the afterlife, and so know their secrets, some are good, some involve others, information that supposedly died with them the Rayearth of wind can learn it and transmit it…even use it for its benefit…mostly for pranks"**

"**But if you want to know more you should ask Anima, that is his territory, my territory involves rules…believe it or not, not that because I'm a creature of chaotic nature doesn't mean I don't know rules at all" **

"So you know about central 46" Yoruichi, **"But of course, when it comes to stupidity and making extreme rules, central 46 is infamous, only the ninja world civilian council surpasses it on sheer stupidity…although there is a world where wizards do exist, and they are kinda stupid, I mean their only hope against the greatest menace their world has ever seen, and they choose to ignore him and leave him on the dark about his part on how to save the world…pure sheer stupidity"**

"Guh…can't believe this" Yoruichi muttered, "So…Yoruichi" Ichigo began, "This….Kuukaku…in what can help us to enter Seireitei?"

"Kuukaku has something that can actually break into Seireitei easily, that particular method of course is rather noisy, and stealth is basically null"

"We are not going to sneak in Yoruichi, we are going to get in, demolish everything that stop us, find Rukia and bolt out, if I have to turn half of Seireitei into a gigantic parking lot then so be it" Ichigo declared, **"Spoken like a true Rayearth of fire my little flaming strawberry!"** Fira…sobbed, making Ichigo sweat drop, "Well…it could be worse" Ichigo muttered, a minute later he took his words back when Yoruichi told them that they finally arrived to Kuukaku Shiba's home, and saw that indeed got worse, a lot.

"Found it" Yoruichi said, when all saw the house Yoruichi was pointing with her paw, their jaws instantly met the ground, with the exception of Fira's, **"Well I have seen worse" **sadly the teens with her didn't, until now, the house was normal…up to a certain point, two massive arms flanked the house from side to side, holding in the air a banner that said 'Kuukaku Shiba' behind the house what could only be described as an industrial chimney rose high into the sky.

The shock was visible on their faces, even Hiyori stared at the house in sheer shock, "Okay…now we know why Kuukaku lives far of Rukongai" She began, "Because no one would live near THAT" Ichigo pointed out, "I don't know…it has some artistic wonder in it" Inoune pointed out, "Uh…I seriously doubt it" Chad pointed out.

"Well, let us go" Yoruichi said, followed by an enthusiastic Orihime, and a very silent Chad, meanwhile, Ichigo, Uryuu and Hiyori kept staring at the 'house' it was Ichigo who would take the initiative of the trio to get, "Come on guys, the faster we deal with this the better"

"Wait a minute!!" Uryuu began, "I know you don't want to be seen entering…that" Ichigo pointed out, "Neither do I, but if Kuukaku Shiba has a way to help us get in then I'm taking it…even if it means…entering that" Ichigo pointed out, "He is right, I hate to admit it but he is right, well better now than ever" Hiyori said, following Ichigo, seeing the fight lost, Uryuu followed them to the 'house' the only good thing of all this was that besides them, no one else would see him entering that crime against architecture.

* * *

Rukia stared at the horizon; she didn't feel much like seeing the spot where she would die, nor the weapon that would do the job, a gigantic halberd with the power of over a million released zanpakutou, such death only reserved to treacherous captains, a little overkill to her she admits, but then again to a shinigami things trend to be overkill always.

She stared at the far end of Seireitei, as much as her eyes allowed her to see, she had heard a commotion like no other last day, explosions, destruction, more explosions, and a odd feeling of familiarity, of what she didn't knew, all she knew was what whatever caused it was repelled, but the things she heard was interesting.

Renji had told her upon leaving that a Rayearth, not a rouge shinigami or her brother finally going bat shit crazy and leveling Seireitei with Senbonsakura, but a Rayearth, the real deal, had stormed the west entrance, had basically flung Jidanbou like a ragdoll, dealt massive damage to any opposing force, mainly shinigami defenders, and while it was pushed back By Ichimaru Gin, the Rayearth got the last laugh because somehow he was able to burn Gin's clothes completely, all of it, effectively humiliating the captain in front of all the shinigami…and amassing a fan girl base after that little incident.

Of what Renji described her it seemed that the Rayearth was able to manipulate fire, which meant that it was the Rayearth of fire, the most battle oriented Rayearth of the three know Rayearth knights, the question lingered, what was a Rayearth doing on Soul society anyway, there was little of interest to it in here…

Then it hit her, the Rayearth came for her…that or it came to turn Seireitei into, what was the term used by the living, oh yeah, turn the place into a gigantic parking lot, whatever the hell that meant, she was intrigued enough with the wonders of the boxed juice and the bendable straw, the image box that transmitted chappy the bunny on animation, and of course the reason why it seemed all girls going to school had to wear short skirts, hell why they couldn't just wear normal robes like in the shinigami academy, is that really hard…perhaps it was a thing of the living, something that she wouldn't understand because she lived on a world where such thing did not existed and of course because she was about to die a very horrible death.

She had many regrets, many of them were due because of her, Ichigo died, trying to protect her, even as he bled to death, he tried…as friends would.

Perhaps…the Rayearth would be kind enough to kill her, that way when she reincarnates, thing that will not happen if she is executed by that oversized eye poker know as the Sōkyoku, then perhaps in the another life she will meet Ichigo reincarnated and perhaps, just perhaps, try to have a civil friendship, that and also keep her love for chappy the bunny, that's what she wishes the most to keep in her next life.

Sighing, she didn't noticed a female figure on the entrance of the tower, the only reason the female figure could get in was because she was a captain and pretty much all cower before her infamous might and reputation.

"The Sōkyoku" Rukia heard behind her, slightly turning around she spotted Retsu Unohana of all people inside the tower of penance, with her, looking at her with that motherly stare, but there was something else in that stare, a little glint that she had only seen when Chizuru had tried in many occasions tried to grope Inoune in pure mischief, and not in the other way around.

"The use of such method of execution is…extreme if you ask me, so far only two people have been executed in the Sōkyoku…captain level criminals, your offense, while grave had nothing to warrant this method" Unohana said, but Rukia remained silent, what was there to say to a captain, especially to one of the caliber of Unohana, she might look motherly, but she was also loyal to the sotaichou and the Gotei 13, rules included, perhaps she was there to see why she has yet to recover her spiritual power, she was sure the Gigai she used should at least restore a little portion of her power, yet it didn't happened.

"I'm not here to check you or to remind you of why you are here" Unohana began, catching Rukia's attention, but not enough to make her speak, "I'm here…to tell you a tale" Okay that was not into Rukia's reasons of why a captain would come to her cell personally.

"This tale…is of a boy, barely twelve years old" Twelve years old to a person living on soul society was so little, like a baby to them, "This boy had suffered all kinds of abuse, mostly mental, because everyone was afraid of touching him for what he held at bay, because you see he held a monster of the kind a Vasto Lorde would quake in fear, but that is not what the story is about" Rukia rose an eyebrow at that, "The boy was the dead last of his academy, he was studying to be a ninja, he had a big dream, one of the likes would mock for his low grades and reputation, yet he didn't gave up, eventually he became a ninja, and there is where my story takes a turn" Unohana said.

"He fought against the cruelest things his world had to offer, they brought him to his knees several times, bleeding, hurt, wounded, almost to the brink of death, always underestimated by his peers…yet he won all those battles in the end…do you know why?"

"…power" Rukia said simply, she answered just to humor Unohana, "Wrong…in all his fights, he was fighting for someone, never for himself, always protecting someone dear to him" Rukia stiffened, it was like what Ichigo did for her, "His…precious people…he fought for them, to protect them, to protect his home, for his dreams and the dreams of others, yet how a kid could fight and win against enemies that overwhelmed him in power and experience, even after he was basically left for dead in each battle and the gloated about their victory, do you know why?"

"…no"

"Don't insult my intelligence Rukia-san, I know you're smarter than that" Retsu said sternly, making Rukia stiffen, never in her life she had heard a person talk to her like that, not even her brother could achieve such tone of voice, "Every single enemy of the boy fell before him for one thing in particular" Unohana said as she leaned so close to Rukia's ear that made the Kuchiki girl stiffen, feeling the breath of Unohana on her ear.

"They underestimated him…no matter how many times they stabbed him, broke his bones, slip his blood…no matter how close he was of death's grasp, he would rise up, they underestimated him, and they paid the price…just like your brother will pay for his for not killing Ichigo Kurosaki…the Rayearth of fire" with that Unohana left as silently and swiftly as she came, leaving a pale and shocked Rukia, only one thought in mind and her mouth.

"Ichigo's alive…"

Outside the tower, Unohana smirked slightly, something that freaked anyone in front of her which turned to be Isane; she had to thank Fira for releasing her former self…and of course giving her information about the little kid with the big ass sword and colorful clothes, along with the others.

"Naruto…Ichigo…Danny…what an interesting bunch they are" Unohana said as she walked away, Isane following her, the first step of the plan Fira cooked, completed.

* * *

He expected that Kuukaku Shiba might be a man, an extravagant dressed man, with an even extravagant looking house on the inside, damn he was wrong, inside the plain looking house awaited them a woman, a very busty woman, smoking of a small pipe, the most outstanding look of her was the fact that her right arm was a prosthetic, meaning that either she was a shinigami that lost her arm on combat, or a Rukongai resident that by some messed up luck ended up losing an arm in a fight against a more violent member of the sectors of Rukongai.

It didn't surprise him that Yoruichi knew Kuukaku at all, not in the slightest, till that point Ichigo had never focused on Yoruichi, when he did he nearly had a stroke of what he saw, the black cat was surrounded in a purple energy that slowly took the shape of a woman on all fours, he couldn't see nothing else beyond the feminine shape around the cat, not the hair color or the skin color, just that it was feminine, why such aura would surround Yoruichi still eluded Ichigo, but he had the slight suspicious that he wouldn't like the answer once it came to him.

"Yoruichi…long time no see, it has been a time ever since you visited me" Kuukaku said with a smile, taking a drag of her pipe, "Indeed it has…sadly I'm not here for friendly meetings" Yoruichi said, "Let me guess…you want my help"

"Indeed"

"It will be something rather dangerous?"

"Most assured it will" Yoruichi said, seeing how Kuukaku smirked, "Well what the hell, luckily for you I like danger" Kuukaku said with a smirk, "So, lay it out to me, what is going on" and so Yoruichi began to explain what was happening, including the fact Ichigo was a Rayearth and the bird perched on his shoulder was in fact Fira, guardian of fire.

"I…see" Kuukaku said as she took another long drag of her pipe, "Quite a mess…even more with a Rayearth involved" Kuukaku began, "Legend states that when a Rayearth awakes his or her powers is because basically the universe is on the brink of utter chaos and destruction, if Crystalia falls, the universe around it follows it on the path of destruction, the fact alone you are here tells me that this…rescue will degenerate in something far more than a rescue…of that I'm certain" Kuukaku said seriously.

"**Indeed, but that's the path of the protectors of Crystalia, the Rayearth knights story is written on blood on the pages forged on war and destruction, all knights without exception have seen war, waged it, deal with it, you are right on one thing, by the end of this rescue…all will change" **Fira said with a cryptic tone, "Change? Please tell me Rukia won't become shy and introverted, that enough scares me" Ichigo muttered to the guardian bird.

"**Nah…although is a funny mental image, meek, shy…blushing every time you are around and no less than a meter of her, that would be fun" **Fira added, making Ichigo growl, "Okay, putting aside the fact that I just became one of the few Rukongai residents who knows of this bat shit rescue you half cooked" Kuukaku ignored the growl of Ichigo, "I can't say no to Yoruichi, hell if Urahara is involved and the fact that you're the son of 'crazy as a bat' Isshin I can't even deny even if I could, he and I have a story"

"Please…tell me you're not one of his ex-girlfriends" Ichigo muttered, "Okay I won't tell you I'm one of them since you know I am" She ignored the fact that Ichigo began to slam his head on the ground, muttering about the 'pimp' of his dad.

"And even if you're Isshin's son I just can't trust you nor your friends, even if Yoruichi vouch for you all and not even because you are the goddammed Rayearth of bloody fire, so I will send a subordinate of mine to keep you all on check" Ichigo and Hiyori resented that.

"On check? Is not like we are going to blow the place once we enter…okay Ichigo might" Uryuu confessed, making Ichigo growl, "But why you will do this?" the Quincy asked, "Not much, better safe than sorry" Kuukaku confessed as she stood up, "And who is this…subordinate of yours?" Ichigo asked, "Is not my subordinate per se, is my little brother but I call him like that sometimes, a little blockhead I might add but he will help you in what I plan to use" She said as she walked towards one of the sliding doors near her, "Oi, are you ready?"

"Yes Onee-sama" soon the doors opened, revealing an 'oh so' much familiar face to all the Ryoka, clad in formal robes of course, "I'm Ganju Shiba, nice to meet you all" He bowed, not noticing the shocked looks of the teens in front of him until he lifted his head and saw them, recognizing them all, including Ichigo.

Suddenly the temperature of the room rose to alarming levels, "Again? Dammit Kurosaki we are not going to be cooked on our own juices by you!" Uryuu snapped, sweating like a pig, like the rest, "Huh? Suddenly the room became warmer…nice" Kuukaku said with a smile, seeing the still stone like look on Ichigo's face, serious, yet shocked.

"You!" Ganju snapped, rising fast and pointing and accusing finger at Ichigo, "You shinigami trash, because of you Onee-sama nearly killed me for coming late!" Ganju snapped, yet Ichigo didn't answered, "So you met already, even better" Kuukaku said, "Onee-sama, I won't help this…shinigami scum" Ganju declared.

"That's not something you will decide Ganju" Kuukaku suddenly snapped sternly, "They are friends of Yoruichi, we are helping them, whenever you like it or not" she snapped, "Why? Shinigami are all the same! Arrogant insensible assholes, why we should help this one!" Ganju snapped, suddenly grabbing Ichigo by the cuff of his robes, it was then when Inoune recognized something, "Oh no" she muttered, "Sado-kun, please can you separate him of Kurosaki-kun?" Chad rose and eyebrow at that, "When…Kurosaki-kun is like that…bad things trend to happen" she said, Chad didn't knew why but he felt that she was right, standing up, he saw how Ichigo suddenly opened his mouth, like a hippo, "Oh no…too late" She muttered.

"Late? Late for what?" Uryuu asked, his answer came when suddenly fire came out of Ichigo's mouth, hitting Ganju point-blank, engulfing half of Ganju's body on flames, "When Kurosaki-kun is shocked and angry at the same time…he trends to…detach himself of things for a minute, then he opens his mouth and…goes crazy, usually he hits all on his path…that is new however" Inoune confessed, not knowing if to feel relieve that Ichigo didn't mauled Ganju or be really worried now that she saw that instead of mauling an opponent to a bloody pulp he will burn them to a crisp.

"Hmm…well oddly I saw this coming" Kuukaku began, "Ganju here doesn't like shinigami much" she confessed, a little too obvious for the current labeled Ryoka on the room, "In any case, as he recovers of his…new tan" She joked, it wasn't every day she met a living flamethrower, and no, Yamamoto didn't counted, he needed his zanpakutou to do so, Ichigo had just to open his mouth and bam!

"Now come on and follow me people, I'm going to show you how you will enter Seireitei" with that Kuukaku walked away, all but Ganju followed, amazingly Fira dragged Ichigo, everyone had to wonder how strong Fira was in her avian form, considering that she was dragging Ichigo like if he weighted no less than a feather, and Ganju…well he had to recover from the fact that shinigami could basically breath fire.

* * *

She is a smart shinigami, there is no doubt about it, strong, of course, she didn't made it to fukutaichou out of a fluke, her zanpakutou is as strong as her, and yes she is perhaps one of the very few shinigami that could actually make Toshiro Hitsugaya to crack a smile, and is perhaps because ever since he became a shinigami he had smiled less, being a shinigami ain't easy, it demands too much of the man or woman, it leaves scars, both physical and mental, she is no exception to the rule, nightmares of the ambush of hollows on the human world many years ago where very few trainees survived out of a miracle were still fresh in her mind.

As she walked around the barracks of the 5th division, a stack of paperwork on her hands, her usual smiling face was marked with a frown, something was wrong, deadly wrong, she could feel it, ever since that dream, ever since she saw herself, ever since she saw the three warriors in shadows, ever since she saw Shiro-chan and Yachiru in her dreams, changed, older, stronger than they are now, she have been wondering what's going on.

A meeting of lieutenants had been called no less three hours after the first attempt of the Ryoka and the…Rayearth to break into Seireitei; she had a hard time believing it, until she saw the west entrance, the place was a warzone, enough said, several shinigami were confined on the 4th division barracks, including Kira and Hisagi, both wounded, Kira with his zanpakutou broken and he mumbling about his zanpakutou failing, hell even rumors about Gin's clothes being burned completely, and he having to run to his division barracks butt naked were not so much of a rumor once Kira confirmed it, after all he was the only defender actually conscious, and so he had been the one to describe the Rayearth.

Tall, slim, clad in shinigami robes, spiky short orange hair, brown eyes and a scowl on his face, a massive zanpakutou that resembled more a gigantic stylish cleaver than a katana or a Nodachi, like a zanbato, that was his zanpakutou, then it came the Rayearth like weapons, a second cleaver, a twin in all but the colors, a white ivory glove on the left hand of the Ryoka, a red crystal in the shape of a skull with flames around it, he capable of breathing fire, shooting fire of his fingertips, hell he stomped the ground and made lava came out of the ground like walls to slow Ichimaru-taichou shikai, and to top it all strong enough to punch a hole on the Sekkiseki walls with brute strength alone, not a good prospect to have and enemy she concluded.

The fact that during the meeting Yachiru seemed to zone off during that description made her…uncomfortable, to say the least, Yachiru is definitely not know for being silent, let alone to zone off, hell the fact that the description of the supposed Rayearth Ryoka fit perfectly in the image of one of the men she dream off, it scared her, greatly, who he was, did he had the answers to her sudden dreams? Why Shiro-chan and Yachiru appeared in them? Older, stronger, why she appeared in them? What her other self meant by 'being deceived'

Pushing those thoughts temporally aside, Momo entered the office of her captain, seeing how her captain worked diligently on some paperwork, she smiled, but that smiled was erased the moment she saw Aizen Sosuke's body to basically shimmer away, it was…scary, even more when she saw that the desk was empty, there was no paperwork, hell the desk seemed that no one has touched it in a long time.

Eyes widening, Momo dropped the stacks of paperwork to the ground, to this her other self referred as being deceived? If so then why her captain would do such a thing, it had no sense at all, Aizen was perhaps the most trustworthy captain on the Gotei 13, and the friendliest, surpassed by Unohana Retsu, something was up, something was wrong.

Turing around, Momo was determined to find out why…the question was…where to start?

* * *

Kuukaku kept a vigilant eye at Ichigo and Fira, and of course to her brother Ganju as she guided the group to their ticket inside Seireitei, the reaction of Ichigo before, while comical, could had also escalated into something worse, it wasn't only Ichigo who wanted to attack her brother, Fira had held on her attack against Ganju, surely because she, unlike Ichigo would have in fact killed Ganju, not for nothing she was a guardian, no less the guardian of fire, mistress of all flames, Ganju could have been easily been turned into a pile of ashes…or worse, not even the ashes would have remained.

As she guided the group into the bowels of her home, and into their 'transport' if could be called like that, she began to brainstorm, obviously Ichigo seemed the one with the biggest amount of spiritual power of the group, even if she hates to admit it, even bigger than Yoruichi's, and she was captain level, it was upsetting that a mortal, a human no less could have such amount of power, but taking in consideration who is his father, perhaps…perhaps it could work.

"_My greatest piece of work…it can work…with him it will work" _making up her mind, Kuukaku opened the door to one of her biggest work ever, told in the literal sense, "This" she motioned to the center of the room, there a massive pillar rested on the room, "Is the Kido cannon, your means of transportation" she declared, shocking Ichigo and Uryuu, both knowing what Kidou meant, "You made a freaking Kidou…that chimney was the cannon barrel?" Uryuu asked, "Yes, it is my most ambitious project, well the second, proven already, this baby will fire you to Seireitei and punch a hole on the barrier around it" Kuukaku said, seeing the blank expressions of the teens, she pulled something out of her clothes, a small pebble, placing the pebble on the floor, "Watch" she commanded, not a second later spiritual energy formed around her left fist, with a roar she slammed her energy laced fist on the pebble, then she lifted her fist, letting the teens see what happened.

"The Sekkiseki stone is rare, even here; it absorbs spiritual energy on all kinds of levels, basically not even the strongest shinigami can break it with a zanpakutou or a Kidou spell" She said, all saw how the ground around the pebble broke, forming a neatly circle around it, "Not only that, the stone basically forms a spherical barrier around what it protects, example here, Seireitei is protected on all fronts, up and down, front and back, is nearly impossible to penetrate" Kuukaku said as she grabbed the pebble, the spot the pebble once occupied crumbling once the pebble was removed, then tossing it to Ichigo who snatched it on mid-air.

"But of course there are exceptions, if I'm correct about you then this will work, gather your energy on your hand and crush that pebble" with a frown, but with nothing to lose, Ichigo did as told, to the shocked look of Hiyori and Yoruichi, the pebble was pulverized on his hands.

"As I expected, apparently your spiritual energy is now mixed with what I can assume is magic, surely something extra added since you are the Rayearth of fire" Fira nodded at that, **"You are smart little girl, yes, his body, his powers are now fueled with elemental magic mixed with his natural spiritual energy, the stone can't absorb such dense energy, especially such a combination, as a result Ichigo can break the Sekkiseki easily, hell he can break it with brute force alone, but he is still not ready to that level of power…at least not yet" **Fira said, making Kuukaku smile, "Good, then this will work even better"

"What do you mean Kuukaku" Yoruichi asked, "I bet you remember what cost me my arm, right?" Yoruichi's feline face suddenly gained an alarmed expression, "You can't mean that?" Kuukaku nodded, "I forbid it Kuukaku! When you created that…thing it took your arm! And when a shinigami tested it he ended up as a red smear on the room! That thing was the reason your family fell into disgrace! And you want to use it on Ichigo!?" Yoruichi snapped, making all basically freak at her tone of voice, filled with worry, anger, but above all fear.

"I know what went wrong" Kuukaku countered, "What's to know? That thing is too dangerous, it could kill a Vasto Lorde easily" Yoruichi hissed, "Is density" Kuukaku fought back, "No shinigami, no hollow has the density and quantity of energy needed to pull this off, Ichigo can!"

"I admit Ichigo has an abundant energy for a human, shinigamis work a hundred years to gain the energy he has, and while it might and let me say MIGHT work, his energy is neither dense nor controlled, hell for all I know he could blow half of Rukongai and Seireitei with it" Yoruichi said seriously.

"It WHAT!!?" Ichigo all but snapped, "That's the thing, remember that I created it to basically act as the perfect administrator of energy, not a single drop of spiritual energy would be wasted, the problem was that it did its work too damn well, and once it started it was impossible to stop the process until completed, that's why he ended up as a smear on the room, the device sucked all his energy, then released it, killing him" Kuukaku said, "And what assures me this will work this time" Yoruichi hissed.

"Simple, it won't be a shinigami doing the job, it will be a Rayearth doing it, also ever since he entered I have felt the unnatural amount of energy he pours out without control, that chaotic energy output that not even the limiter issued to ranked officers outside soul society can contain, that density of energy that would lure every single hollow of Hueco Mundo to him, that almost infinite source of energy is what I need, he is perhaps the only person capable of doing it" Kuukaku concluded, making Yoruichi sigh heavily.

"Okay, let's say this thing works, all of us have to enter, and I doubt being around Ichigo in that moment will be like being leeched of life"

"I thought of that already, you will use the conventional method, the safe one" Yoruichi remained silent, "Ichigo will punch a hole in the barrier, or better said tear it apart, you all will be trailing him, so rest assured Yoruichi that the kids will have a soft journey" Kuukaku ended, "Uh…nee-chan" Ganju began, "Yes Ganju?"

"What exactly are you talking about? What is this device it has Yoruichi-dono so worked up?" Ganju asked, "Is…a long story, you can't remember it, you were just a little brat when I made it" Kuukaku began, "My greatest invention…the cause of the Shiba family disgrace…I call it the Cannonball" Kuukaku said, motioning the teens to follow her out of the Kidou cannon room.

"An object of the kind Urahara would blush in envy, is as simple as it can be complicated, its destructive power alone overwhelms anything that is Kidou based, not even level 100 spells have that destructive power" Kuukaku began, "It will work" Kuukaku said as she stopped in front of a black door, "The…door" Ganju said, "I kept it here, just in case the source of energy came…or an idea to reduce the fatality level to a manageable level came" Kuukaku said, the door opening as soon she took the first step forward, then she motioned the group behind her to follow her inside.

Once inside, the group noted that the room was dark, with a snap of Kuukaku's fingers the room lit up instantly, making the group wince at the sudden rush of light on their eyes, as they grew accustomed to the light, they saw the so called cannonball, and soon realized something, when a resident of Rukongai or Seireitei names something, the name doesn't exactly reflects the appearance of such object.

On the middle of the room, on a pedestal, surrounded by a glass cube rested a what seemed to be a purple praying beads that could easily be put on the wrist, each bead was on a rich purple, almost glowing with its own light, "That, is the cannonball" Kuukaku began, "Each bead you see is an super dense gathering of spiritual particles constricted together to form a fine bead, the purple color is given by the several spells and devices added in each bead to measure and control the reiatsu of the user so it can form a super dense spiritual barrier capable of breaking into any kind of protective barrier, including the Sekkiseki barrier around Seireitei" Kuukaku began.

"Of this I made these" She said, suddenly pulling of Kami knows where a basketball size crystal like ball with a red center that seemed like a phoenix, "This one is a very diluted version of the cannonball, anyone with a decent control over their energy can use it, creating a protective sphere over their bodies" Kuukaku said as she tossed the sphere to Ganju, "Ganju, show them!" she commanded, without loosing time, Ganju did as told, both hands holding the sphere, suddenly a transparent energy sphere formed around him, surprising the teens slightly.

"All but Ichigo will use this to enter Seireitei, so you will have to train so you can keep a constant and equal amount of energy in the orb, one mishap and you can kiss your asses goodbye" Kuukaku said, suddenly turning to Ichigo, "As for you, I can fairly say that you have a lot of energy, but no experience letting that out, especially onto something, so you will be training also using this orb to draw your energy out and form a barrier around you, so when the time you have to use the cannonball comes you can actually draw the energy without problem, time is essential, so we shall start training now!"

* * *

She hated to do these things to Ken-chan, especially ever since he found her and took care of her when she was naïve, innocent…okay not so innocent in terms of death and giggling at the sight of a blood coated sword, ever since the dreams began she had been unable to sleep well…or play well, she can't stand well on Ken-chan shoulders without dozing off.

She has assured Ken-chan that she is fine, hell even pachinko head had expressed concern over her, it was nice to know that even with their odd friendship he didn't held nothing against her, after all she is a little kid, a little innocent kid.

But ever since those dreams began she has acted beyond a normal's kid behavior, to sum it all up she thinks that Byakuya Kuchiki is 'hot' nuff said that Ken-chan nearly had a seizure when she said that, not to mention the reaction of pachinko head and peacock head, utter horror.

Those faces reminded her of something, she is still far to place it where, but she had seen the same horror stricken faces once, maybe on her dream, where flames of all colors dance at her command, where she is not a small cute girl but a sassy tall woman, where her enemies are burned in those flames as they scream mercy at her, of a once green field and a town with a castle now consumed in flames by the traitors as they and their relatives begged mercy…

Blinking several times, Yachiru wondered where those thoughts came from, she wondered why she found flames beautiful, why she thought of Byakushi as cute, hell she wanted to know so she could sleep, she is not going to end as a midget as frosty-chan, she is going to be tall, beautiful and above all with an eye patch on her eye, a chocker on her neck, bells on the tips of her hair and a bloodstained sword on her hands, but that is not going to happen is the dreams keep depraving her of her sleep.

Maybe Mumu-chan had the answers; after all she had the same look on her face that she bears now.

* * *

Yoruichi had her reservations of this…plan Kuukaku had cooked, it was not because of the cannonball one of her friends was left with just one arm, ending her shinigami career, not because that thing had killed another shinigami in such a savage way that the only thing they could actually bury of the poor guy was the remains of his zanpakutou, not because of that accursed thing the Shiba family fell into disgrace, she was worried because if that thing worked, and she had a feeling that it might work, it would without a doubt bring forth the attention of the last person they needed as an enemy, the king of soul society.

She had explain them that such event was the worst kind of scenario for them, not only because the king had a whole division of elite shinigami, most of them former captains and he surely had overwhelming amounts of reiatsu that far surpassed the one of Yamamoto, but because his word is law, is close to god-like powers (she clearly remembers Fira snorting at that) and he could in a sweep take their lives and leave Karakura town without shinigami aid, meaning that the hollows that inhabit the city would go on a killing spree and feeding frenzy like no other unopposed.

That was what she told them of course, secretly she feared another thing, Isshin was the son of the king, he had a younger brother, when Isshin was…declared dead soul society fell the full wrath of the royal family, or so Kuukaku told them, suffice to say that Yamamoto was afraid of angering the new king, which turned to be Isshin's brother, if by some twisted machination the king were to came here, drawn by the sudden spike of reiatsu released by Ichigo…hell the simple fact that the eldest heir of the royal house had three children and had married beyond his betrothal with a female shinigami selected by his father, not even having the delicacy of sending a signal of life to pacify the king…heads would roll, more precisely the heads of central 46, because the sotaichou has no authority to exile shinigami…central 46 does, and the whole wrath of the king would fall squarely on their shoulders.

She didn't knew that someone got ahead of the king in terms of disposing of the corrupt council, but she would…eventually, what she was afraid was of the political backlash that would happen if the king were to cross Ichigo, not to mention the destruction that those two would cause, she had no illusions that the king would win, Rayearth knights are forces of nature, the king isn't, dammit the Rayearth knights fought on the Great War against a being whose name alone inspire fear even to the most hardened warriors, or so she heard, the knights have a long history on conflict, they know war, they know battle, she is afraid of what would happen if those two powerhouses would come to clash…hell she was afraid already of the other knights.

Fira had show her, and only her the faces of the rayearths of water and wind, while she found the Rayearth of water as…the freaking antithesis of all that is dead and alive, the Rayearth of wind…well the kid is a ninja, wears orange, is a prankster and joker at heart, like her…with a total disrespect for any physical authority, she dreads the day Yamamoto and the kid come across, not only because the kid is irreverent and basically is disrespectful against anyone who is yet to earn his trust and respect, but because he is the Rayearth of wind, the same Rayearth, that according to Fira, had humiliated Yamamoto 300 years ago, while the kid had no knowledge of the events that transpired between Yamamoto and his predecessor, she knew that Yamamoto would lash at the boy for being the Rayearth of wind, she dreaded the response of the kid…and she dreaded the day the three knights would come together, because she knew that something bad was going to happen when that occurred.

Grooming herself, Yoruichi contemplated the events of the day with certain surprise, while the fact that Kuukaku didn't end the petty fight of Ichigo and Ganju with her usual temper and usual collateral damage, she did had warn them that they should leave those stupid prides away because they would work together from now on, she put emphasis on that sentence to Ganju, she knew why, but refrained of speaking of that, it was not her place to tell that sensible matter, another disgrace that befell the Shiba family on a more personal level.

Immediately after that they group had began training with the spheres, it was obvious that Ichigo had the most problem with it, as predicted, his abundant reiatsu prevented him to control it, surely because that energy had grown so suddenly that caused such events, it would take Ichigo years to control it properly, right now it was a daunting task to him to control the power he had, let alone pour it on a controlled burst for prolonged periods of time, he had the worse time trying to create a barrier around him, the others fared better, it was because their energy was not as abundant as Ichigo's, and obviously because unlike him, they had something called patience, that and Uryuu and Hiyori had previous experience channeling their reiatsu and controlling it, Hiyori displayed an amazing control, surely years on trying to control her hollow reiatsu and her previous life as shinigami aided, while Yoruichi had to wonder where Uryuu had learned to control his powers, obviously he did learn that of another Quincy, which meant that the Quincy had not been extinguished as many shinigami believed, Yamamoto and Mayuri would resent that quite hard.

The day had passed rather fast, and Kuukaku had announced that they would not leave to Seireitei until Ichigo was able to create a stable barrier around him, Yoruichi frowned at that, it would take Ichigo at least two days to control his energy enough to form a decent barrier around him…

Then the damn house began to shake, Yoruichi blinked at that sudden action, truth to be told it was new to her, usually the house shakes when Kuukaku decides to end fights or make a point stand in her own special way, the problem was that Kuukaku was at her side, smoking, rather shocked by the way, along with the teens.

"What is that?" Uryuu asked, "I don't…" Then it hit them, well two things hit them, one was the sudden raise of temperature that only meant one thing…Ichigo, two was the overwhelming familiar sensation that accompanied Ichigo every time he flared his reiatsu, only Yoruichi could recognize the second one of course, after all she had been present on the remaining days of training of Ichigo and his sisters under Urahara's tutelage, she had to admit, Karin had the meanest right kick she had ever seen, and that was saying much.

"…Kurosaki-kun" and obviously it seemed that Inoune could recognize the overwhelming reiatsu of Ichigo, that and perhaps now the teens would associate any rise of temperature around them to Ichigo, rising up the group hurried to the 'basement' of the house, even more when the tremors became more frequent and the sensation of being cooked on a pressure oven became evident to them.

Once they reached the room Ichigo had been training, they found that Ganju was on the ground, trembling, "Ganju what is going on?!" Kuukaku yelled, "Nee-sama…I tried to tell him how to gather his energy on the orb…then this happened!" Ganju yelled, the group was finally able to see what has happening inside the room, and were in one word, shocked by the sight of it.

Ichigo was in the middle of the room, his hands clasped firmly between the orb, blue reiatsu lashed wildly around him, every time a wisp of reiatsu touched a part of the room, that part suddenly turned into glass by the superheated reiatsu that seemed to have a live of its own, because it had yet to lash at them, what shocked them all was that Fira still stood on Ichigo's shoulder, perched firmly on it, not leaving him.

"**Good ichigito, let it all out, it will benefit you on the long run" **they heard, "The hell are you telling him, if he keeps this up he will blow us all up!!" Kuukaku screamed, while the was marveled by the sight of so much reiatsu and was beyond convinced that Ichigo would be able to control the cannonball, she was horrified by what Fira was saying, if things continued the way it was it was certain that he would attract a damn Vasto Lorde with his current reiatsu of the depths of Hueco Mundo.

As soon those words left her lips, Kuukaku fell to her knees, her prosthetic arm suddenly turning into ash as she sweated like crazy, she could breathe, but only because she was able to flare her reiatsu to do so, but it was an uphill battle she noted, in less than a minute the overwhelming reiatsu that crashed over her would drown her, crush her bones to fine dust, leave her a stamp on the floor.

"**Know your place child" **Fira began, her voice booming on every single person present, **"This will aid you in ways you never imagined…your toy will become far more powerful that you ever imagined" **Fira said, her avian features showing a slight scowl directed to the kneeling woman who was finally able to breathe properly.

"_Is this…the power of a guardian?_" Kuukaku thought in shock, staring at Fira in a new light, _"A power that goes beyond the mortal boundaries, a power that is beyond a Rayearth reach, the power of an element fully harnessed…now I understand why they are considered gods even if they are not…they are so close to godhood that you can actually know the power of one by just imagining the gap missing between a guardian and a god"_

"**Now ichigito" **Fira suddenly said, **"Do as Ganju told you after unleashing your power…pour it all inside that orb…pour it all" **their shock furthered when all that wild and chaotic energy began to gather on the orb on Ichigo's hands, a transparent barrier forming around him, then the barrier began to grow more solid, the barrier transparent energy began to grow dark, blocking slowly but surely the sight of those who wanted to see Ichigo inside it.

For a minute the barrier remained like that, a dark blue barrier that prevented anyone of seeing what was happening inside, then cracks began to form around the barrier, "Oh no" Kuukaku said in horror, "Everyone take cover!!" she screamed, not being able to run away anywhere, Orihime brought her ultimate defense to bear in front of them, determination on her face…

**BOOM!!!**

Kuukaku's home shook with the powerful explosion, those near could only see how Inoune's triangle shield stood its ground firmly, yet cracks were seen all over it as soon the smoke settled and Orihime was able to call out the fairies that formed the shield, all worn out and tired, just like her, it was obvious it took a lot of them to hold the shield in place.

Soon the smoke settled properly on the room, letting all see what happened inside it, "OH goddammit he blew the room apart!" was the reaction of Kuukaku upon seeing the room that Ichigo had been using to train in such…devastated state, the walls were cracked apart and blackened, the floor was reduced to dust and ash, the roof sported enough holes in it, and in the middle of the room, on a huge crater lay and unconscious Ichigo, gladly his clothes were okay or god help him if Orihime sees him naked.

On another note Fira still remained perched over Ichigo's shoulder, not even whined or affected by the blast that tore the room apart, **"Gotta say…ichigito do knows how to leave an everlasting impression of him whenever he goes"**

"Of course he does! He just blew a room!!" Yoruichi snapped to the guardian, right on the face, **"Oh stuff it furball, admit it you loved the explosion and the fact we won't have to wait for ichigito to master the ability to gather reiatsu"**

"While you are correct" Yoruichi began, "There are other ways to do so" she added, **"Time is against us, what I did was the fastest and safest method"**

"Safest!?" Uryuu snapped, "You coaxed Ichigo to go thermonuclear on the room!!"

"**Considering he had to pull his reiatsu out first, then add it to a reiatsu sensible object, things could have gotten worse, have I just allowed him to pull out his reiatsu, ichigito would without a doubt have burned this place to cinders with his reiatsu alone and crushed anyone nearby with his presence, leaving not even a red smear" **Fira snapped to the last Quincy.

"He would?" Orihime asked, **"Yes…believe it or not his uncontrolled reiatsu has already caused several side-effects, namely you and Chad having powers of your own, while I admit that your powers are completely at odds…or better said they are the equivalent of a bitchslap to the uptight Seireitei" **Fira said to Inoune and Chad, **"But I'm getting out of topic here, what I'm trying to say is that if ichigito wanted it, he could go…thermonuclear and blow Soul Society to a gaping crater saturated with reiatsu without the need of the cannonball…in fact Ichigo's predecessor as the Rayearth of fire kinda ended a war by blowing herself along with the enemy army, their fortress and pretty much every single ringleader of the war, ending the Lord wars which left the rayearths of wind and water alive, but greatly affected" **Yoruichi and Kuukaku frowned at that, maybe what triggered the sotaichou total hate to the Rayearth knights and by extension the crystalian culture in general lay in the aftermath of the so called Lord wars.

"Uh…out of curiosity…how big was this…explosion" Ganju asked, who wouldn't ask that, considering he will be working with Ichigo in rescuing a girl of the clutches of the 'evil' shinigami as he sees it, not only he does the right thing, he also gets to bash shinigami head and kick robed asses, but of course all that would be a mute point if Ichigo suddenly becomes the equivalent of a bomb in any moment, so he wanted to be sure to steer clear once that happens, besides how big the explosion can be?

"**Hmm…I think…ten times the total size of Soul Society"** okay so he was practically screw over, but hey, if Ichigo blows himself up, he gets first row seats for the fireworks…pity he wouldn't see the shinigami scared faces on the explosion, but the magnitude of the explosion and the assurance of a 100% killing rate made up for the horrible death he and many others would suffer.

But while the others didn't enjoy much being incinerated to less than atoms, they were surprised to know the lengths the Rayearth knights were willing to take in order to stop a war for dragging too long, even if those lengths included self-destruction and basically turning a town into a gapping crater.

"**In any case, now that Ichigo knows how this is done we can proceed with the next part of the plan" **Fira said, leaving Ichigo's shoulder and flying to Chad's shoulder, "Indeed" Yoruichi said, making her way where Ichigo was, still unconscious…and snoring, go figure.

Yet she would learn the hard way that standing near an asleep Ichigo is the worse experience ever.

"Now that Ichigo was able to concentrate his reiatsu, we can proceed, we will leave at AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

* * *

Deep within the barracks of the 2th division, home of the Onmitsukidou unit, the captain of so said division, deep in mediation, opened her eyes in surprise, standing up and reaching for her zanpakutou strapped behind her waist, eyes darting around the room she was currently using for meditation, scanning every inch of the room, every shadow with care.

After a whole minute she let go of her zanpakutou and sat cross legged on the floor, she just swears that she heard the oh so familiar scream of agony of Yoruichi when someone grabbed her tail in her cat form, such incident only happened once, and was when Byakuya stopped being a Kuchiki for one single night, got wasted so badly that he groped every single female member of the 2th division, including Yoruichi in her cat form during her days at captain, the thing was that he was just a kid in those days.

The thing was that Byakuya had basically used Yoruichi, in her cat form as a teddy bear, glomping the life out of her, thankfully it happened just once, and the last time Byakuya got wasted was when he was on his honeymoon and strange loud noises emerged of the Kuchiki manor every single night for the next years until the passing of Byakuya's wife.

She idly wondered if an overdose of husband love had killed her.

* * *

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the light, or better said the lack or such, groaning he used his arms to stand up, or try to, in the end he ended up on his knees, "Man what happened?" he asked to no one in particular.

"The short story you blew the room you were using for training" he heard Kuukaku say to him, his eyes finally adjusting, allowing him to see clearly, he was outside of the house, close to the base of the cannon in fact, Orihime, Chad, Hiyori, Uryuu and…

"Oi…Yoruichi-san…what happened to your tail?"

He had to ask the blunt question without not even seeing how his friends paled at that question.

Suddenly Yoruichi, in all her feline grace and glory had leaped at Ichigo and proceed to maul his face with her claws.

"HEY CUT IT EEEOOOWWWW!!!!"

"DIE YOU BASTARD DIE!!!"

"AAAHHHH SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

For their health and sake none did that, especially Uryuu, who basically has half of his life set, he ain't going to be a doctor dammit, he has the looks to be a damn model, make women drool, make money and even better, wear his own creations, and he ain't going to lose all that just to help Ichigo 'tactless' Kurosaki of a horribly disfiguration by the paws of Yoruichi, the talking cat who can beat their asses easily.

It would take five minutes to Yoruichi to unload her well deserved 'woman rage' (now that they knew she was a girl) on Ichigo's face, which now looked like some crime against art, oddly enough the wounds were healing rather fast, especially the ones on the lips, no one found odd that steam came out of the wounds as they closed, surely another Rayearth trait that Fira had conveniently forgot to tell until it happened.

It would be Uryuu who would gather courage to tell Ichigo what happened to earn Yoruichi's rage, apparently Ichigo has the…nasty habit of biting things on his sleep, so when Yoruichi aparated near his face, tail flicking around dangerously near Ichigo's face, it happened, Ichigo bit the tail so hard that it seemed that he would end up taking a good chunk of the cat's tail, fortunately that never happened, unfortunately the tail now was twisted in several directions, no longer flicking harmoniously.

"…that explains why my mouth tastes to fur" Ichigo confessed,"…My tail, my beautiful tail" Yoruichi moaned, oh how she was itching to transform into her human form and show Ichigo that he had bit the tail of a very naked and hot woman…oh his expression would be priceless, worth the shouting and perhaps fire out of his mouth to her.

"Okay, now that you are back on the land of the living…so to speak" Kuukaku said, making Ichigo scowl, "We are ready to move up, they will be caught off guard at this hour" Kuukaku said, "At night?" Ichigo questioned, "No, one hour before dawn" Chad replied politely to Ichigo, "Oh…" Ichigo replied, not even caring that he had been unconscious at least eight hours or less.

"We can start this, here's the plan" Kuukaku began, "Ichigo will go in front, since he will be the spear tip and break the barrier so you can enter with the second shot" Kuukaku stated, "Each ball will be separated by a five second span upon fire, Ichigo will be first, followed by you all in the second ball"

"Uh…that would be safe?" Orihime asked, "Yeah, more because all of you can control your energy to a level and keep it stable, so the shield around you won't crack, in fact if all goes well your landing will be like landing on mountain of pillows" Kuukaku said, "The key part of course comes resting on Ichigo's shoulders, he must break the barrier so you can enter, Ganju will be with you all along the way, once you land Hiyori here will guide you where Rukia Kuchiki is…after you interrogated any unfortunate shinigami that crossed your paths" Kuukaku said, not liking the grin of Ganju not even a bit, he was surely going to enjoy that last part a little TOO much.

"And…how we escape Seireitei?" Uryuu asked, "Simple…we let Ichigo loose on one of the entrances, he levels it, we ran, and after using a special device created by Urahara that I have in my possession we leave Soul Society and return to the living world" Yoruichi mentioned.

"That…is solid enough for me" Ichigo mentioned, "Of course it does, you care little if you make enemies of a entire community of death gods" Uryuu replied drily, which was partly true, Ichigo didn't saw the whole picture, just the short aftermath of his actions, not the whole picture, if that plan were to succeed, and he actually doubts that plan will work by the book, then Ichigo would make an enemy of Seireitei for life, Ichigo didn't knew the lengths the shinigami would go to gain revenge, the near extinction of the Quincy line was such an example, entire families decimated, women, children, parents, dead, no remorse, as long the Quincy line died out, the same could apply to Ichigo if he were to rescue Rukia, his family, Karakura town would be caught in such a horrible tornado of revenge that in the long run would only benefit fixing the damaged pride of the shinigami if this plan were to work.

"Okay, you know what to do" Kuukaku said, suddenly tossing to Ichigo the purple beaded bracelet that was the 'cannonball', Ichigo caught the bracelet easily with his right hand, but had a hard time deciding in which wrist he should put it, "Okay…what now?" Hiyori asked, "Eh…I don't know if to put it in my right wrist or left"

"Left" Hiyori said simply, "Oh yeah, put an experimental weapon of energy near a crystalian artifact that is in fact part of the universe, has Kami knows what kind of energies in it and might cause a cascade of energy that would ultimately send Soul Society, the living world and Hueco Mundo to a one way trip to the 'boom' zone, how smart" Yoruichi said drily, Hiyori and Ichigo stared at the bracelet, then at the glove, then at each other, "Right?"

"Yep" Hiyori replied, maybe what Yoruichi would not happen, but better safe than sorry, crystalian artifacts are not exactly children toys, especially when they come in contact with powerful artifacts of another worlds or other crystalian artifacts that might resonate with their power, and considering that among the most famous and powerful crystalian artifacts, the blades of the rayearths, their armors, the queen's crown, the seven rings, the medallions of impossibility, and the gloves of the rayearths, the gloves contained vast energy, and contained also the blades of the rayearths, it was safe to assume it was better to keep that bracelet and Urahara's most dangerous toy away of it, far, far, far as humanly or spiritually possible of it.

"Eh…so…" Ichigo began, "Yeah?"

"…How much you know about the rayearths? Fira tells me just things…nothing concrete" Ichigo said, "Tsk, typical…Fira is not exactly know for being a being for giving concrete answers, only Anima, the guardian of wind and perhaps Draconax, the guardian of water…what do you want to know?" she asked seriously, besides her training and her burning desire to eviscerate Aizen with his own zanpakutou (or in case that's not available, a very sharp stone) she took very serious anything related about the Rayearth knights, almost to the point of obsession, Lisa once scolded her for obsessing in fairy tales.

"_Fairy tales my ass, I'm talking with a genuine Rayearth knight, Lisa eat your heart…wait a minute" _Hiyori then stared at Ichigo intently, "Uh…what?"

"…as far as I know, no Rayearth has been selected with powers previous to the Rayearth powers" she said, "Yeah, Fira did told me that"

"Which is odd, every knight was a normal person of another world, royalty, a bum, a blue collar worker, but every one of them shared one particular trait, they were normal, you are not, I dare say you are the first Rayearth knight with extra powers…and I don't like that" she confessed, "Excuse me?"

"…Something bad is going to happen…watch your back strawberry head" she said as she began to walk away, "Yeah right" Ichigo turned around, "Whatever you say bucket fang"

**BAMM!!!**

"OUCH WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Next time is my fist!!" Hiyori snapped, brandishing her most deadly weapon, her sandals, Ichigo grumbled something under his breath, only to yell again as Hiyori hit him on the head, then began to chase him when he called her 'short stop'

The beginning of the most bizarre friendship ever, don't cha think?

"…**Don't worry about them" **Kuukaku looked down, spotting Fira on the ground, looking at Ichigo and Hiyori disappear inside the house, "This plan is not going to work out right?" she asked, thankfully Yoruichi wasn't around, surely with the others, working in the finer details, **"No plan works perfectly, every person should know that"**

"Are they…"

"**Hardly, they are strong, and they have to play an important role in this tale…trust me on this"**

"Then why I feel like something bad is going to happen?"

"**It will…simply said, masks will be broken, truths will be revealed, plots will thicken, hearts will break, and above all a traitor will be revealed"**

"Traitor? Urahara and Yoruichi never told me about a traitor?"

"**Why should they? You had nothing to do with the incident that created the beings know as Vizards, the less you knew the better and safer you were"**

"How you know all this?" Kuukaku asked intrigued by Fira's words, **"Oh child, I know more than you can imagine, it also helps that Draconax allowed me to see the past of this world…truth to be told it has too many loose ends to tie, enough say that when this rescue is over, Seireitei will be shaken down to the core" **with that Fira slowly walked away to the house.

"**Oh…by the way, be proud of the cannonball, you're about to make history as the inventor of the only object capable of breaking the imperial barrier" **the shocked look of Kuukaku was enough for Fira's amusement, and more when Kuukaku, a minute later, began to scream in joy, saying 'I'm freaking brilliant!!! Eat your heart out Urahara!!!'

* * *

The royal palace was perhaps the most beautiful…and boring place on the royal dimension, suffice to say that being the only building on the whole dimension was bad enough, but that the place was also crawled with the elite of the shinigami the king called and deemed worthy to be on the zero division, all focused on protecting you of…whatever should came into the dimension was bad.

But what made things worse was not having a single familiar around, she was the only one around, the queen, the boss, the one with the power, while upsetting that she had now the power to break the strongest shinigami with a finger it had its perks as well, like being able to see her family.

It was sad to see her husband acting like a complete goof, her daughters…her little jewels, so changed, yet none of them shed tears anymore, and her eldest…it broke her heart to see him scowl almost daily, the smile he once wore as a child seemed to die the day she died and found out the truth behind her husband family, much to her shock.

The years were kind to her of course, she was kinda immortal, had access to all kind of neat stuff, while most of that stuff was made by the shinigami on the zero division, or by Mayuri's daughter/clone, and checked before anything (she doesn't trust anything related to that guy at all) most of the objects were for protection, like her zanpakutou, enough say that she is better that her husband (who hasn't married, she would have send the entire division to kill any girl fool enough to date her man)

One of the objects on the palace was in fact a simple pond, nothing fancy, just a pond, but that pond was in fact a direct window to Soul Society, a way to oversee the workings of Seireitei, she was not too much fond for the harsh rules, and less for what was going to happen, she had seen it, the pond allowed her to see the meetings of the captains, or as she likes to call it the meetings of a bunch of kinder garden kids, central 46 was too harsh with rules, they were going rampant, and of course Yamamoto throwing a tantrum because a bloody Rayearth was seen on the living world, she was angry at him when he ordered Unohana to kill the Rayearth family, she was glad that Unohana failed, how she didn't knew, she didn't care, she had been thinking of showing up and setting her foot on the matters, hard.

Then it happened, several alarms began to sound around her, all signaling an attempt of entry to Seireitei, again, the last one, sadly she never saw the intruders, the pond's image got the equivalent of a TV static, she only saw the aftermath of the battle, the utter destruction the Rayearth provoked…and the…things of Ichimaru Gin, she had to admit something, the Rayearth had a morbid, yet satisfying sense of humor and revenge.

The alarms kept going off like crazy, her eyes steeled over a panoramic scenery of Seireitei, it was surely the Rayearth again, while she admired his wish to break the girl of the punishment, she had a work to do, she is the queen, albeit she has been in the work for a short time, but she has to upheld the rules, with that in mind leaned to the pond, then poked the water in it with her index finger, right at the middle of the image of Seireitei, suddenly a green barrier forming around the court of pure souls.

The imperial barrier would withstand all, even a Vasto Lorde cero fire point blank; nothing could pierce it, not even that purple orb that was approaching it.

Then curiosity got the best of her, she didn't saw the Rayearth before, it was obvious he was the one inside that purple orb that was being trailed off by that blue orb, now pressing her thumb on the purple orb, the image suddenly zoomed, only to see a purple haze around it, the energy around it was so chaotic, so dense, so…so…so familiar.

Narrowing her eyes she pressed her thumb hard on the image of the purple orb, she is the queen for a reason, true she ain't no Crystalia queen, but she is a force to be reckon with in Soul Society, and making something visible out of that storm of concentrated reiatsu orb was an easy task for her, after all she learned the ropes of the shinigami fast.

The mist around that orb suddenly vanished, revealing a perfect, clear vision of the person inside of it; there she paled considerably at the sight of the person in it, spiky orange hair, brown eyes…a determined look on his face, and a big bird perched on his shoulder.

"Ichigo…" she muttered, eyes widened at what she had done, the imperial barrier would not only deflect him, it would kill him, and once casted it would not relent until the attack was over.

In fear she could not watch this happening, so she closed her eyes, but as soon she did it, the sudden feeling of an overwhelming reiatsu presence washed over her, a little nasty effect of the pond, she could transmit her reiatsu directly to anyone on the pond's sight, and she could feel the reiatsu of the person, while it could not overwhelm her, she could feel it nonetheless, but this time it was another thing entirely, she could not only feel it, it overwhelm her completely, and that was enough to make her open her eyes and see the impossible become possible.

Right before her eyes, the pond showed her how her son, Ichigo Kurosaki, the new Rayearth of fire basically tore the imperial shield apart like tissue paper, causing a massive reiatsu wave wash all over Seireitei, causing the outer wall of Seireitei to crack violently, and surely awakening every single resident of Rukongai, not to mention how the other shinigami should be feeling, more because they were on the epicenter of the disaster so to speak.

Her shock was too much to bear, it was impossible, the shield had fell so easily, and by her son…by far overwhelming reiatsu, one thought left the mind of Masaki Kurosaki in that moment as her guards stormed the room.

"Isshin…what the hell are you been giving to my baby!?"

* * *

Being awoken by the sounds of the alarms at a god forsaken hour, again is not a good thing, especially if you're Rangiku Matsumoto, the hottest woman around Seireitei, the most wanted woman so far, besides Retsu and Nanao, and not only because she has massive jugs, she is a lieutenant, a party animal, and who can forget that face that basically screams beautiful.

But being awoken two times on a god forsaken hour after working so hard on the paperwork (her captain will wholeheartedly disagree on that and rather say that she just got drunk again) was just pushing it, Rayearth or not that guy was going down, no one messes with her beauty sleep and lives to tell the tale…okay her captain can awake her and live to tell the tale, but just because is her captain, and basically he has enough dirt to ruin her social life for good.

It didn't took her much to look presentable, she was already dressed for the day, just some water on the face along with make-up, brushing her hair on a flash and picking her zanpakutou and she was already ready to do war against perhaps the strongest enemy that has ever came to be on the goddamn universe…not that she cares much on that part, no one awakes her and gets away with it.

It took her less than a minute to reach the exterior of the barracks of the 10th division, her captain was already outside, thankfully he was focused in the sky, flowing his gaze, Matsumoto saw a green dome forming around Seireitei, and blinked, "The hell…" she muttered, "…That's the imperial barrier" her captain muttered.

"…Huh?" was her only answer, she barely recalled the annoyed sigh of her captain at her ignorance, she was more focused on the purple orb that was approaching the green barrier, "That barrier is used by the king of Soul Society…or so I heard" Hitsugaya said to Matsumoto, "The King? You mean he is watching?"

"He must be, I heard that the sighting of a Rayearth is very rare, and often is a sign of problems to come in that particular world, the fact that a Rayearth is here, trying to storm Seireitei of all things must have brought his attention, which means something is up, there is little here that can bring the gaze of those beings here…unless…" Hitsugaya muttered the last part, "You don't think he is here…trying to free the girl, right Taichou?"

"…Is a possibility" Hitsugaya muttered, his ice like gaze focused on the orb that was approaching the barrier fast, it was common knowledge among captains that the imperial barrier, once summoned would kill any attacker, meaning that whoever was on that purple orb was as good as dead…

Then the orb touched the green barrier, a second later Matsumoto was on her knees, pale as a sheet of paper as a potent reiatsu basically crashed over them, he was equally pale as her, but he wasn't on his knees, years of training, of spending time on meetings alongside Kenpachi and his outbursts, years of feeling the reiatsu of the sotaichou had gave him and the captains the ability to hold their ground against such overwhelming pressures without buckling to their knees…

But after that orb crashed on the barrier, the reiatsu that crashed over Seireitei was enough to make anyone kneel, anyone but captain class shinigami, then another second later the green barrier shattered like glass, and then another wave of reiatsu, far worse than the first crashed upon Seireitei, the buildings cracked, the road was basically turned into dust, Hitsugaya was finally brought to his knees, looking around he saw Matsumoto on the ground, a scared look on her face as the reiatsu crashed over her merciless, not thinking it twice, Hitsugaya used his body to shield her of the worse of the pressure, allowing her to breathe slightly.

She never noticed the glazed look on his eyes, nor the hand that squeezed her bum until the pressure ended, when she did…let's say that Hitsugaya sported a proud grin later…regardless of the black eye and the handprint on his cheeks, the grin scared many people more than the wrath of Matsumoto visible on his face.

Unfortunately he wasn't the only one acting odd during that.

Yachiru kept staring at the sky when that happened, her eyes as glazed as the ones of Hitsugaya, she was perhaps the only shinigami on her feet, the far look on her face worried Kenpachi once he was out of the meeting he was assisting, although for a little time, Retsu was good on her word, an opponent had come, someone strong enough to match him, to provide him with a worthy fight to the death…Isshin's eldest, his grin couldn't be more intimidating and bloodthirsty even if he tried to improve it.

Sadly he didn't notice that Yachiru sported that same grin…but worse on her youthful face, as soon as it came it was gone, now replaced with a serious face.

On another part of Seireitei, Momo Hinamori simply stared at the shattered barrier with a frown, then focused her sights on the empty space at her side, it was suppose to be someone there, but it wasn't, people said 'Sosuke-taichou' to the spot, but there was no one there, she was worried, concerned, intrigued, she was determined to find out what was happening to Aizen, with a single stomp she walked away, no one noticed the crack on the ground she made upon stomping it.

On the 4th division barracks, Retsu Unohana didn't had her gaze upon the sky, instead she was kneeled, using her body to protect her lieutenant and her 7th seat, of course neither of them would argue why she basically shoved their faces together and rubbed them to one another, like kissing, but very badly, they didn't have the spine to ask her that.

As for her, she muttered the first words after she basically rampaged into her division, grabbed Isane and Hanatarou before the waves of reiatsu nearly killed them, and after that.

"…It has begun"

* * *

Hiyori knew what to expect of the Rayearth knights in terms of power, they were perhaps the most powerful mortals on the universe; the crystalian Dark Lord didn't counted because many believed he was actually immortal, and the only reason he fell was because his spirit possessed a mortal body, so pretty much he stopped being immortal and got his ass owned by the queen in the last days of the Great War.

She also expected much of Ichigo, not only because he was a Rayearth, but because he was like her, like the rest, a shinigami-hollow hybrid, a Vizard, the self-appointed name for the shinigami-hybrid species, while he had yet to show the normal symptoms of a inner hollow, like stopping in mid-attack and basically going berserk once in a while alongside with a mask, Urahara had assured her and Shinji that Ichigo had an inner hollow, or use to, having a dormant soul of a nemesis instead of a hollow kinda scared Hiyori to an extent, those beasts were far stronger that a Vasto Lorde and they use to be the guard of the Dark Lord during the Great War, ten in total, and so she heard, nine out of the ten had been killed by the rayearths during the following years.

Now at least she knew were the last one ended, as a freaking spirit that awaited the day it would come in contact with a possible Rayearth, kill the spirit of the weakened Rayearth and make the body its own, like the leech, but the leech was a push-over compared to the nemesis, which is a monster on a league of its own.

But aside that topic, it seemed the plan was indeed going to work, even in the orb with the others and using her reiatsu to feed the shield alongside the others, she could still feel the abnormal reiatsu of Ichigo, she was still surprised that hollows were not drawn by his thick reiatsu, to a hollow Ichigo is a all you can eat buffet, and perhaps with that amount of energy they would jump the evolutionary lines faster than Mashiro on a sugar rush.

Then it happened, that green shield, Shinji once told her about the imperial barrier, casted only by the king in very rare occasions, the fact the king was watching kinda freaked her out, not only that, the barrier was indestructible, or so Shinji said to her once, with a nervous gulp, Hiyori kept her eyes open as she saw Ichigo's orb get near the green barrier…

**BOOM!!!**

Shock became evident as the purple orb clashed upon the green barrier, not a second later the barrier shattered with a devastating reiatsu wave that washed all over Soul Society, the people inside the orb behind the purple one were no exception feeling the devastating wave.

Hiyori gritted her teeth as she felt all her body clenches horribly, it was daunting enough to keep her hollow at bay after such wave hit her, stirring the beast inside her, she could not imagine how the others felt, surely the big breasted girl was about to die, she was the weakest of the bunch for one single thing, she lacked motivation, that feeling to fight, to protect she had in spades obviously, but to kill, to fight, to maul her opponent to fine dust, to chop it until there is nothing left, that she lacked.

As they followed the purple orb into a crash landing, suddenly a reiatsu wave hit them, hard, the blue orb began to crack upon that impact, "The hell" she heard Ganju hiss in disbelieve, "The shield is cracking!!" Orihime exclaimed in shock, "That can't be! We haven't withdrawn our energy of the orb!!" Yoruichi exclaimed in shock as turbulence began to shake the orb.

"That…moron, he surely overdid it with the destruction of the barrier!!! We are feeling the remains of his released reiatsu!!!" Hiyori screamed, "Dammit Kurosaki!" Uryuu sneered, "There will be time to berate him, now grab onto someone before the orb collapses!!" Yoruichi snapped, but a second later, the orb shattered, when that happened they were suspended in mid-air, much to their shock, shock that became horror to Ganju.

"Grab onto someone before we are pushed aside!!" he screamed, latching himself to Chad, Hiyori grabbed Orihime's hand easily, seeing how Yoruichi remained alone…

"The Quincy!" Hiyori screamed, seeing how Uryuu was slowly drifting away of the group, with a curse under her mouth, Hiyori used Orihime as a weight to propel herself towards Uryuu, when she reached him, she grabbed him by the cloak, "Damn you're so not worth the problem!!" she screamed as she tossed him to Orihime, once she grabbed the stunned Quincy, the group was suddenly expelled into four directions.

Of course neither felt the massive shockwave that was generated once Ichigo's orb crash landed, causing something bad to stir awake.

* * *

The maggot's nest, the worse place a shinigami can end up in Soul Society, a place where shinigami that are potential threats to others are send, most of them can walk around the maggot's nest since it lack a cell per se, with the only exception of one Mayuri Kurotsuchi, perhaps the only intern of that hole that required a cell so he didn't end up murdering all inside the maggot's nest.

But it was an unknown fact, even to the sotaichou that the maggot's nest held another kind of prisoners, the kind of prisoners that would elate Mayuri, scare the crap out of Mayuri and he would love to dissect them in that order.

The cell that Mayuri once used was in fact an entryway for the foulest of creatures that had come to be in Soul Society, escapees that by sheer luck had ended up in a spiritual dimension, sealed away by pure luck and forgotten because there was no records whatsoever of them arriving.

They were roughly a hundred, the most war-hardened wraiths of the Dark Lord, pushed aside into a forgotten realm that was once empty, sealed away by a mistake, forgotten because their sealer didn't thought of them so much to leave a record of what was inside the bowels of the maggot's nest, that was his mistake, a mistake that would be paid in blood.

They had been asleep for eons, eons where their dreams were filled with vengeance against the Rayearth knights, revenge against the queen and any heir of her, revenge against the one who opposes their lord, revenge, death, that was their dreams were filled with.

It was then, as they sleep that a familiar energy washed over them, the familiar energy of a Rayearth, they had fought against their kind many times, they saw how many foolish wraiths fell against the enchanted blade of the Rayearth of fire, how many witches perished in enormous glaciers conjured by the Rayearth of water, how many berserkers and blasters were shredded and carbonized by the winds and thunders conjured by the Rayearth of wind, then the final humiliation, the fall of their leader by the hands of the queen, they could recognize that energy anywhere, the sickening feeling of goodness the rayearths seemed to radiate like a sun radiates light and warm, regardless if the Rayearth was a thieve, a bum, a king or a fugitive, the rayearths seemed to exude goodness, and that sickened them.

The recognized the feeling, which had awoken them, but also something else in that energy had awoken them, a very familiar and welcoming energy.

Attila, the last and most powerful Nemesis the Dark Lord had created, and whose name had been also used by a very ruthless warrior in a world far beyond Crystalia, was alive, in spirit, but alive nonetheless, not only that, it was inside the Rayearth, to them it was kinda poetic, another Rayearth possessed by a spawn of the dark lord.

Then it hit them, if a Rayearth was around, then it meant that Crystalia was again in peril, meaning…that their hour was at hand.

Gleefully the wraiths began to move, all grasping their rusty, yet sharp swords on their waists, they were once the elite guard of the Dark Lord, the Nemesis only surpassing them in power and skill, once they were thousands, but now they were just a hundred, but they were still a force to be reckon with.

Their leader, the last captain of the wraith guard, with a mighty punch, broke the wall that was once the leaning place of Mayuri, and like a locust plague they advanced to the metal door, his sword unsheathed, cutting the thick steel door easily.

As the wraiths walked outside the door, they found themselves staring at a bunch of crazy people there; most of them were on the brink of suicide, already doing it, or holding their sanity by a thread…

And easy kill.

All the wraiths unsheathed their blades, katanas and broadswords in particular, all rusted, dented, damaged, yet all held that particularity that all swords had, deadly weapons in capable hands, and the wraith hands were more than capable.

_**Kill them all…**_

That day the maggot's nest history was written, this time in the blood of both innocent and guilty alike, unopposed, the wraiths walked away of the massacre, a black taint walking away, heading silently towards Seireitei, towards the Rayearth, towards their destiny.

That day, literally, all hell breaks loose.

* * *

_hey guys, its me again, so what do you think of the chapter? good? bad? your opinion counts anytime, and yes i know this chapter was all talk and little action, some might actually ask the hows and whys of many things, so you can PM me (privae message) to those new in this thing, truth to be told i never knew what was PM until i asked to a friend of mine inmy time playing Lienage, in any case, now for the usual, the preview of the next chapter, enjoy._

_

* * *

_

**_A mission, to them it was a mission to stop them..._**

"I'm Lucky, Lu-cky, Luuuu-ckyyyy!"

**_To others it was duty..._**

"I'm sorry Ryoka-san, but i can't let you pass that easily, you understand, me being shinigami and you being invader and all that...perhaps we can work our differences with cup of sake"

**_Others had their own angenda..._**

"Hinamori-fukutaichou...We found Sosuke-taichou...dead"

**_Their own personal missions..._**

"Hanatarou-kun...i want you to help the rayearth...I'll deal with any problem related to it later on"

**_In the next chapter of Rayearth Knights: Ichigo The Inferno...tornado of souls..._**

"Who is it, who is the strongest of them all!!!?"

**_turbulent times come, and nothing will remain the same..._**

"You know...Right now i'm half-tempted to bash your head for releasing those things!!!"

* * *

_until a nest time people, Hypn0s signs off, with the promise that I will not take two months to publish a chapter...I hope._


	7. 6: Tornado of souls

__

_Hello my fellow readers, Hypn0s is back, happy April's fools for those who celebrate it, another month gone, can you believe it? i can't, time does fly fast when you work on a piece of literature, sure is not nobel prize literature worth but sure as hell is exciting as one._

_Now I have been up to date with the current manga (The anime not much, i mean two filler arcs in a row?) and so far it keeps me on the edge, Aizen is one mean mother...you know what I mean, that guy is basically unstopable, the sotaichou had to blow himself to slightly burn him, not even the vizard and the captains could do something, Momo got impaled and Toshirou was pissed, not to say that Aizen seemed to know something about ichigo, and Isshin? man with one finger and Aizen was flying like a ragdoll towards several buildings, talk about bad-ass, anyway people, you can expect the Hueco Mundo and fake karakura town arc to be covered on the last story of the rayearth knights, right where Naruto, ichigo, danny and the still unknown replacement of the queen will meet in crystalia, yes i know, spoilers, BAD MOJO! but i can't resist it people, as for when i will reveal the identity of the replacement of the current queen of crystalia, that will happen on chapter 9, another thing, this story will be longer, it will suprass naruto the maelstrom and Danny the tsuname on chapter size, maybe twenty chapter, more or less, while the last story, the individual one of the queen will be shorter, but with longer content in each chapter so you don't get dissapointed by the small size of her story, i have a good reason for it, seriously._

_now enough talk, let's get this show on the road._

"Normal Speech"

_"Thoughts"_

**"Guardian speaking or deep booming voice"**

**_"Fira speaking on ichigo's mind or zanpakutou speaking in a person's mind"_**

**"Hollow speaking or vizard with mask on speaking"**

**_"Inner hollow speaking in the mind"_**

_**withouth the "" qoutes, wraiths or other beings speaking**_

that list above is to those who got confused with the so many people speaking, if i commited a mistake on the list then you can tell me, now let's get this show on the road people.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6: TORNADO OF SOULS**

**CRACK!!!**

**BOOM!!!**

**BAMMM!!!**

Seireitei had been invaded, and the first sound that the defenders heard was the sound of the purple orb crashing and basically opening a hole that would be fit to a personal lake, that or to be filled with trash, the smoke rose by that orb crashing was by far bigger than the one formed by the other four beams that had once been the blue orb trailing it.

The shinigami were torn to were to go, there were five possible landing sites, easily the place where the purple orb landed could be a fake, to distract them of the other four landing sites, it was quite hard to choose what to do, especially when two lieutenants were hospitalized, both with damaged zanpakutous, not only that, the sotaichou was out for blood, not to mention that no one has seen Byakuya Kuchiki so tense…or so angry and pale, apparently news also that someone had survived an encounter with him had spread like wildfire, and kinda damaged his image as a ruthless, cold and overall efficient captain, a serious blow to his ego, and he had just one person to blame.

That was the reason so said captain was basically making a beeline towards the crashing site of the purple orb, he was not on the mood to wait for back-up or for Renji to arrive, his pride was on the line, the fact he got humiliated in front of the other captains because of his mistake could not stand, he would bring the head of the Rayearth on a silver plate to the sotaichou if needed to redeem himself in the eyes of the elder (yet more powerful than him) sotaichou.

That's why when he arrived at the crash site, and found nothing but dust and a big-ass crater, it was no wonder to many, five minutes later, and the string of curses Byakuya seemed to spit out in a rapid pace, cursing the hell out of Ichigo Kurosaki, his family, his soul and pretty much anything related to him.

A little far away of the crashing site, Ichigo suddenly shuddered, impaling Zangetsu and Ignus on the ground so he could rub the chills out of him, then he grabbed both blades, Ignus vanishing in a shower of flames and sparks, and Zangetsu being wrapped on the cloth and slung on Ichigo's back.

"**You know…those chills usually mean someone is badmouthing you"** Fira replied, landing on Ichigo's shoulder, "Really? I didn't realized, and considering my possible enemies…I dare say that half of Seireitei is responsible of it" Ichigo muttered, walking away, not glancing back, Fira did however, and let the equivalent of a smirk on a birds face.

Behind them lay at least twelve unconscious shinigami, their zanpakutous cut down and obviously in pain and beaten down, this group had been in particular unlucky, not only they were near the landing sight of Ichigo, but because Ichigo realized that his friends were not following him, and in fact were separated, he got mad, and even more when twelve obviously green as the grass shinigami challenged him to combat, well the result was obvious, it was painfully obvious that the 'kids' didn't knew the name of their zanpakutous, freshly out of the academy and drafted into a division it seemed.

Well, Fira ain't the kind of guardian who complains about easy wins, especially easy wins that actually give her knight a little warm-up and to actually look forward meeting someone who can last actually five minutes.

* * *

Hiyori hissed angrily as she dusted herself off, off all things that could happen to her she had to land alone, on Seireitei of all places, true she would rather be alone when fighting she could do a little company…

"_**Oh come on queen, am I not enough?"**_

"Do I have to answer?" she muttered to herself, she could do the company, because as sure as hell her inner hollow was not the prime definition of 'good company' especially when her inner hollow that she 'affectiosly' called Chiyori was like a boosted version of herself, more crankier, warmonger and who can forget a freaking flirt, she still can't get off the mental image of her and Shinji…down and dirty, enough said that all was Chiyori's fault.

It was a good thing that she was able to form her hollow mask before fall, or she would be in a lot of pain right now, true while she is still a human being per se, along with its weakness, being a hybrid between a shinigami and a hollow did had its perks.

Groaning as she stood up, she adjusted her zanpakutou to her back, the last remains of her hollow mask falling to the ground, she began to survey the area around her, it had been over one hundred years, but she still could remember how the streets of Seireitei looked like back in the day, and she had to admit that nothing has changed…of course she was ignoring the little fact that the ground was cracked beyond recognition, the walls were splintered and broken apart, not to mention the uprooted trees around.

"Whoa…Fira-sama is right; HE does know how to make a first impression" she murmured to herself as she stood up completely, a smirk displayed on her lips as she looked around, her fang striking out of her lips, "Shinji…eat your heart out, I'm the first to have a chance against the bastard of Aizen" she said to herself as she walked away of the crater her landing made, not that the crater improved what was left of the area.

She only took five steps away of the crater when she felt someone near her, narrowing her eyes she turned around, "…Who are you?" Hiyori asked, eyes narrowed dangerously at the person on the other side of the crater, as she smoke settled down, Hiyori raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sight of the person on the other side.

"You" she hissed in anger at the sight of one of her less favorite people ever, "…Kaname Tousen"

* * *

Uryuu groaned in slight pain as he dragged Orihime away of the crash zone, while her Shun Shun Rikka had lessened the fall, it was still too much for her powers to handle, especially after enduring once the overwhelming power of Ichigo reiatsu backlash the fairies had stood against once.

Her right arm was bleeding, while not bad to be considered a wound of consideration, he had to remind himself that he and Orihime had fallen of a considerable height at a considerable speed, it was all a matter of physics, he kept checking her head for any sign of a concussion while dragging her away, but until he could find a place where he could lay low with her, it was going to be hard to check for any possible concussion that might hinder her.

It took him little time to find a proper and deserted house to hide with the barely conscious Orihime, he had a lot of trouble dragging her away…one might imagine that a woman might be light, but Orihime surely crushed that myth, she could at least weight twice his weight, he did wondered how the hell she was able to look like a supermodel…

That was until he remembered that Orihime's most prominent…trait were her…pillows, yeah that, and that added the extra weight on her frame, the fact that he had been dragging her around, with so said pillows touching him once in a while did little to not distract him.

Finally laying Orihime softly on the ground, he pulled his first-aid kit of his clothes, being the son of a medic with his own hospital did paid off, nobody would wonder why he is carrying a first-aid kit away of a hospital, and of course he has a profound knowledge of the human body, wounds and ways to treat them, Orihime's wounds, while not that bad and easy to treat, could become bad if not treated properly and on time, even a small infection on a toe without any intervention could end in a amputation of the infected foot if left to progress.

It took him little effort to treat the wound on her right shoulder and check her head for any possible wound, he found none on that regard, so he let her rest a little, he knew that she had basically saved him with her shield, he owed her that and more, considering that she had saved him and the group back when they were entering soul society, a little rest would do her good, besides who would focus on them, when they have Ichigo a Rayearth and Hiyori (much to his shock and everlasting fear) a shinigami/hollow hybrid.

Oh if he just brought his camera to record the glorious whoopass those two would deliver on the shinigami and more because one was technically not a legal shinigami and the other was to a legal shinigami, and abomination.

Oh yeah, this rescue mission was shaping up nicely.

* * *

"Ugh…my head" Ganju groaned, "Shh" Chad simply replied, perched over a tree with Ganju, seeing how the shinigami basically poured their landing area like ants over a cake, "Never imagined that he would cause the sphere to collapse from the outside" Ganju confessed.

"Indeed…I can see the aftermath of his reiatsu wave" Chad muttered to Ganju who nodded alongside Chad, the tree they were hidden was perhaps one of the very few trees that didn't uprooted upon the cataclysmic reiatsu wave Ichigo unleashed without intention, the fact that there was a still fine lair of dust that covered the area that made the searching efforts quite hard for any shinigami who was not on high ground.

That and of course the fact that many of the shinigami around presented signs of being scared shitless, wounded or both, that brought a smile to Ganju, "Scared and wounded shinigami, walking around like headless chickens…and if isn't my birthday" Ganju muttered with a sick smile.

"…You have strange desires" was all Chad said, he is a man of few words, and when he speaks he aims to the point, which in this case is Ganju's total loathe towards anything dressed in black robes, with swords and started with the word 'S'

"…You would also hate them if you knew them truly" Ganju whispered, "Your hate is your own, I won't ask why, because is not my place to ask" Chad replied, "But one of my friends is a shinigami held unjustly here…I hope you realize that we all have different views of the shinigami" Chad said silently, seeing how the shinigami tried without success to find them.

Ganju sighed, why he couldn't end up with the Quincy who hated the shinigami as much as him?

* * *

Yoruichi laid around the roofs of one of the many barracks of Seireitei lazily, observing how the shinigami were running around, looking for the intruders, a fruitless task considering that Ichigo's reiatsu wave had saturated Seireitei, effectively cutting any shinigami ability to feel reiatsu, it was the same kind of feeling Ichigo gave when around, his overwhelming reiatsu would basically drown any ability to feel reiatsu around him, while it made him a target (the correct term she looked was a target with a neon orange and green bull's-eye painted around him with a very bright announce that says 'Ichigo is here') it also made him an indispensable tool when wanting to mask your own reiatsu using his.

She shook her feline head in amusement, in just a few minutes Ichigo had basically crippled Seireitei, the structures were pretty much damaged along with the streets, there was enough chaos around that anyone might believe that the sadistic Kenpachi Zaraki and Retsu Unohana had gotten drunk…again, and gotten on another brawl deciding who was the cutest lieutenant on their command, while she had heard that one of a rumor Urahara had told her when a shinigami represent before Rukia had babbled about it when he was buying a Gigai, and the fact that Unohana might get drunk with Kenpachi of all people was…well a bunch of bull honestly said.

But at the matter at hand, she was kinda shocked when the orb collapsed, it had to be quite a fearsome feeling to anyone outside the orb, meaning all Seireitei was riled up, every seated officer was basically too nervous and traveling in packs, captains were obviously the less affected, yet the more determined to find the intruder capable of basically scaring the crap out of Seireitei…and the 11th division would be looking for the guy who caused such havoc…to create even more havoc on combat, especially Kenpachi.

"My Ichigo…you stirred the ant's nest quite nicely…let's see what you do now?" she said with a grin worth of a prankster of another world and a certain twin chaotic duo.

God helps all the day they get together.

* * *

Ichigo slightly tensed up, he didn't know why, he hadn't met any other shinigami besides the welcoming committee back on the landing spot, but something had just…freaked him slightly.

Looking around, Ichigo only saw damaged streets, walls and ground, nothing new for the past ten minutes; he hadn't seen any other shinigami, which was odd…

"One might think this place as big it is might have more people in it" Ichigo muttered to Fira, **"Don't fret it too much ichigito, your reiatsu wave caused a lot of devastation, I bet many of the lesser shinigami are unconscious, wounded, scared shitless or all above, I wouldn't be surprised if we only found seated officers and captains" **Fira confessed, "Yeah…by the way how many seated officers are?" Ichigo wondered.

"**Don't know…twenty roughly on each division, of course the first seated officer is the lieutenant of a captain, that red headed kid back in the day Rukia was kidnapped was a lieutenant" **Fira began, "So…they are powerful…but not as powerful as a captain"

"**Correct, they lack both the experience on combat a captain has and their raw power, some of the best captains were born to be, is like a natural talent that runs on the most noble houses of Soul Society, of course once every century a Rukongai resident is born to be a captain"**

"Right now I'm more worried about where is Rukia" Ichigo said, **"Indeed, with nearly the 60% of the Seireitei forces crippled it will easy to walk around" **she confessed confidently, "Yeah…but that means also that we might have a bigger chance of crossing paths with the strongest of Seireitei" Ichigo replied.

As if fate had decided to test Ichigo's theory true, a pair of shinigami suddenly appeared near Ichigo, up in a wall, overlooking the orange-haired Rayearth, one with a smirk, the other with a slight bored expression.

"Well, if it is our lucky day" Ichigo turned around, eyes focused on the source of the voice, a bald man with slightly red tinted skin around his eyes, giving him a more sharp look when closing and smiling, at his side stood another man, this one had raven black hair that made it to his chin, well groomed, with what seemed two red longer eyebrows on the inner edge of his eyebrows, while the outer eyebrows had two long yellow sections, also he had an orange turtleneck covering his neck and an orange strap that hung of the turtleneck and was tied to an orange wristband on his left arm.

Jumping at him, Ichigo leaped backwards, pulling Zangetsu easily with his right hand while summoning Ignis easily with his left hand, Fira of course flew away to a nearby wall, landing softly on it.

Ichigo glared at both shinigami, this two seemed more experimented than the others he crossed, and he could see it in their eyes, in their stance, in the way they…

"Lucky, I'm lucky, Luuuuuckkkyyyyy, so lucky" okay not so much in the way they carried themselves, because the bald one began to chant about his luck and do a stupid dance, while the other one seemed…amused by it.

"_It is just me or every shinigami I meet are bat shit crazy?" _he wondered in his mind, recalling Rukia, the red-headed guy, Byakuya, Urahara…and these two.

"_**Considering your luck ichigito, it might be true" **_Fira reminded in Ichigo's mind, making him groan, something the two shinigami heard, "Hmm…orange spiky hair, brown eyes, clad in shinigami robes, a massive cleaver shaped zanpakutou…a white glove on the left hand with a red crystal on top of it…a red cleaver…so it's you…the Rayearth" the bald one said with a growing smirk, something Ichigo identified as excitement

"You're awfully excited" Ichigo couldn't believe he just say that, it kinda freaked him out, slightly, "Why wouldn't I? The sotaichou has put a huge reward on your head alone, he cares little for the others with you…he wants you death" the bald shinigami said with a smirk.

"Lucky me, just because he can't let go of a grudge" Ichigo snapped with a sneer, really, It wasn't his fault that he was a Rayearth and the Sotaichou, the strongest and oldest shinigami around fought one and lost badly because he got carried away, while Fira never mentioned how badly he lost and honestly said he didn't want to, he suspected that the strongest shinigami was basically a small timer against a full powered Rayearth, that was enough to Ichigo to realize the power he had now and how much of a burden it was.

"_**Finally realizing how long the road to master your powers is ichigito…but trust me…once you master them no one in this world will be your match…of course you don't count your mother with a frying pan and the midget of a girlfriend you try to rescue" **_Fira reminded with a impish tone, one Ichigo snapped rather loudly, turning around to Fira he basically yelled "RUKIA AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND DAMMIT!!" that was enough for the other shinigami to rush at him, "Dropped your guard" was all Ichigo heard as he saw a silver flash…

"Distracting yourself…such an amateur mistake…yet distraction for such a gorgeous avian I think I can give you a leeway for your fatal mistake" the shinigami said, "Yumichika Ayasegawa…remember the name who slay you so beautifully…Rayearth" Yumichika said, his blade was on the ground, the tip of it had a fine line of blood, while drops of blood fell to the ground, Ichigo's chest being the source, kneeling also in a rather flashy pose, a smirk on his face and with his eyes closed, he didn't need to look at the face of his opponent, had he done that he would have seen the next thing coming, yet he did hear it, and that had saved his life that day.

"A mistake I won't make again" with wide eyes, Yumichika jumped away as just the tip of a red blade cut his chest slightly, yet the pain that shot to Yumichika's brain was something akin to being cut in half by a sawed blade wielded by his battle-loving Taichou.

Hissing in pain, Yumichika jumped near the bald shinigami, that one held an amused expression to him, "Dropped your guard, what would Zaraki-taichou say after that mistake?" the bald shinigami said, "Bite me Ikkaku, it was a mistake of my part as well" Yumichika snapped to his shinigami partner, "I must say that…it was unexpected" he exclaimed as he stood up, clutching his chest, especially the fine red line that was the wound on his chest, "Don't tell me that actually hurt?" Ikkaku asked, eyeing at Yumichika with concern.

"Believe it or not…it does…greatly" Yumichika moaned in pain as he collapsed on his knees, dropping his Zanpakutou along the way, Ikkaku stared at his downed partner, then at Ichigo, who only sported a fine cut on his right shoulder, yet it showed no other sign of wound or surprise on that scowl of a face.

"I'm surprised, really" Ikkaku said with a smirk, "You actually didn't care if you got cut" he said, "Barely…apparently I have a high tolerance to wounds" Ichigo said, "I see…you didn't run away…even with this high saturation of reiatsu any warrior can see an experience swordsman only by seeing how it carries itself, the most common reaction most of the times is running away, yet you didn't…why?" Ikkaku asked.

"It would be a waste, if you are more experienced than me then it means you are more powerful overall, running would be useless since you would catch up with me"

"Oh, I see you gave it some thought" Ikkaku grinded more, "But…" Ichigo began, "If your power is inferior to mine then I will beat you and go through you and your friend, simple as that" Ichigo said confidently and seriously.

"I see…you're not stupid" Ikkaku said, soon a tense moment fell over the area, Ichigo and Ikkaku locking eyes in a staring contest…

Suddenly Ikkaku blurred away, a flash of silver then his sword crashing onto the ground, just to 'tsk' in slight annoyance when he saw that Ichigo had moved out of the way, flicking Zangetsu and Ignus easily, "You got good reflexes" Ikkaku commented, seeing how Ichigo launched himself at him, Zangetsu bring brought down to Ikkaku, just to be stopped by Ikkaku's sheath easily on his left hand.

"_The sheath?" _Ichigo thought in surprise, Ikkaku capitalized his surprise by swinging his own Zanpakutou at Ichigo, just to be blocked by Ignus, Ikkaku got eye wide when he heard a scream coming out of his Zanpakutou upon touching the blade, in panic Ikkaku jumped away along with Ichigo who landed on a nearby roof, Ikkaku kept a close eye at Ichigo and Ignus in special.

"_I have never heard Hōzukimaru scream like this…that blade also cut Yumichika with just the tip, yet it was enough to leave him gravely wounded…that blade is dangerous" _Ikkaku concluded grimly, he never imagined that he would end up meeting someone whose blade was as dangerous as the one wielded by the one of his captain.

Losing no time Ichigo jumped at Ikkaku, brining Zangetsu down hard, Ikkaku jumped away at the strike, Ichigo then rushed at Ikkaku, Ignis ready to cut Ikkaku in half, just to Ikkaku jump over the blade, as he landed Ichigo brought his Zanpakutou at Ikkaku just to this one to block it with his own Zanpakutou, then he brought his sheath to Ichigo who began to deflect both sheath and zanpakutou stab like motions with Zangetsu and Ignis easily, suddenly Ikkaku swung his Zanpakutou at Ichigo's legs, jumping away, flipping above Ikkaku, he turned around in mid-air to cut Ikkaku with Zangetsu and Ignis, Ikkaku as well swung his own Zanpakutou at Ichigo…

The result was visible in both combatants as Ichigo landed, and small drops of blood fell to the ground, "You're good…let me ask your name…just in case" Ikkaku said.

"…Ichigo Kurosaki" Ichigo answered simply, "Ichigo eh? Good name"

"You think that? Is the first time someone praises my name"

"I do, it is said that people with 'ichi' on their names are powerful and full of talent" then Ikkaku grinded, the cut above his right eyebrow letting blood out as he did, "11th division, third seat, I'm Ikkaku Madarame! Since we are two men with 'ichi' on their names let's be friends!!" Ikkaku declared with fervor and passion as he took a step forward.

"Sorry, not gonna happen" Ichigo said, blood falling of his left eyebrow as well, things just got rather interesting, both thought.

* * *

"**Cero!!" **Kaname Tousen had expected a lot of things upon hearing that the Rayearth knights were actually back, and to further things one of them was actually on Seireitei, leading a team to rescue the Kuchiki girl, now he cared little for what purpose the Rayearth charged to rescue someone he barely knew, all he knew was that the woman was important to some level for Aizen's plans, in fact she was the first step into a future of peace.

He followed Aizen commands for a reason, his path was the one of less bloodshed, a path of righteous justice, true while he was perhaps the only person on all Seireitei to not be affected by Aizen's zanpakutou effects due to his lack of sight, Aizen was still a force to be reckon with, if he wanted it he could butcher him in less than a second and he would do nothing, not even scream after that, because he would be death, his fear was testimony enough of the power Aizen wielded alone, and of that fear and respect for that kind of power, Kaname Tousen allied with him, along with the bright mind he had and the natural charisma he exuded, Aizen was a natural leader and a natural choice for his goals of justice, a path that was the less bloody.

But he truly didn't expect Hiyori of all people to show around with the Rayearth of fire in the charge against Seireitei, he knew that she was the only person who firmly believed in the legend of the Rayearth knights, who knew the legend by the heart, and to boot was one of the eight shinigami who knew who Aizen really was, that behind the charismatic leader lay perhaps one of the most cunning and cold minds ever to grace Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the world of the living, and by the feeling he had now, she was fully in control of the little 'experiment' Aizen had used on them that night one hundred years ago.

Jumping away of the trajectory of the cero fired by the hollowfied Hiyori, Tousen considered his options, which were few, he could fight against her, meaning he should use Bankai immediately since she is a shinigami/hollow hybrid, and thus most of her abilities were obscure to him at best, second he could stall for time, and make as much noise as he can in the battle to drawn the attention to it, problem, with the current shinigami force cut in half effectively after the reiatsu wave that destroyed the barrier around Seireitei, not only that, the resulting chaos was more than enough to drive any attention away of him, so he had to fight.

He frowned at that, he is a warrior yes, but fighting now would be ill advised, Aizen had told him that along with Gin, they needed to be in tip-top shape, they couldn't afford a mistake at this heights of the plan, Aizen had been patient enough as it is, any mistake would be fatal.

"You are as reckless as usual" Tousen said, slowly unsheathing his Zanpakutou, **"You and that bastard of Aizen took my…our lives away, don't think I forgot about Gin either…you will all pay for what you did to us!" **Hiyori hissed, her voice mixed with a deeper and darker version of her own, "I regret nothing, the path of Aizen is the path of justice" Tousen said simply.

"**Justice? Killing shinigami without recrimination, experimenting with Rukongai residents, creating hollows…don't think I don't know what Aizen created…that monster that killed Kaien and Miyako, Kuukaku told me the latest happenings while we were out…didn't you think none of us would puzzle out that was all Aizen's doing, he turned us into shinigami/hollow hybrids, it was not hard to thing he created a hollow from scratch as well" **she hissed at Tousen, "Though I admit that some have died, it would be a lot worse if Aizen-sama hadn't acted with care, he follows the same path as me, a path of less bloodshed, he will bring justice" Tousen said.

"**Oh grow up will ya, you really think Aizen is the correct path to your so called bloodless justice, people will die if he carries on, and you will know that I was right" **Hiyori replied, raising her Zanpakutou to face Tousen, not noticing the shadow of a person behind him, meanwhile Tousen narrowed his eyes behind his goggles at Hiyori, the nerve the girl had to question his believes, to actually say that they are wrong, she will learn the hard way to not question that.

As both were about to charge one another, Tousen suddenly jerked to the left violently, his body flying away towards a wall, and continuing a basic destructive path as he crashed around like a ragdoll, seemingly not to stop anytime soon.

Hiyori blinked several times behind her hollow mask, such mask dematerializing of her face by the surprise of the sudden 'attack' if could be called like that, and then she turned around, her Zanpakutou poised to cut anyone from the waist down…

Just to gasp in surprise when her Zanpakutou was easily stopped by a white gloved hand, Hiyori's eyes gave little credit to the sight before her, a boy, clad in a black jumpsuit, white spiky hair and royal blue glowing eyes with slits…

"**Don't push it girl, Aizen will be revealed as the monster he is…soon…be patient, all will be rewarded in time" **the boy said in a deep voice, pretty much like Fira's own, but with more command and experience in it, also his presence alone oozed power, it would be reckless to lash at him, hell even her inner hollow knew that, she blinked once then and he was gone of the place, leaving her alone, surprised, and with perhaps an unconscious Tousen on the other of Seireitei.

"Okay…that was odd"

* * *

Yumichika stared at the scene with some apprehension he dare say, there were few shinigami who could match Ikkaku's combat skills, and when he means few he means shinigami that are lieutenants and seated officers, captains are on a whole league of their own, but seeing a Ryoka match Ikkaku in a way made Yumichika scared, he toyed with the idea of charging against this particular Ryoka, if it wasn't for the scary tales the wounded shinigami of the first attack of the Ryoka weren't on his head, he was not to keen on finding out if the red blade in fact can cut Zanpakutou cleanly, or the fact the orange Ryoka has a flaming halitosis.

But while he had a slight idea of the wound Kira had, it certainly was not even close to the full cut Kira had compared to his, but it was still enough to give testimony of the power of the red blade wielded by the Ryoka Rayearth.

"You're strong" Ikkaku said as he saw Ichigo slowly clean the blood of his wound, "But you're obviously a rookie when it comes to deal with normal wounds, all kinds of cut wounds made to the face will bleed beyond control, no matter how much you try to clean it" Ikkaku commented as he removed the bronze cap of the hilt of his sword, and with his finger he smeared the contents of the hidden compartment on his wound, sealing the wound easily.

"The hell you have cauterizing medicine!!" Ichigo all but shouted while pointing an accusing finger at Ikkaku, "That's cheating you low life bastard!!!"

"Cheating? You should be impressed by my knowledge; you should be like 'oh whoa he has medicine to those kinds of wounds' and all that!" Ikkaku accused, making Yumichika to sigh tiredly, it had happened with Renji, it had happened with Tetsuzaemon, hell it had happened with every single person Ikkaku had waged battle against and had got simultaneous cuts on their faces, not that he can blame them, is kinda a surprise, even to people on their own division that Ikkaku carries some medicine with him, many inside would call him a wuss because he has medicine with him, and only the 4th division carries medicine to combat, but no one has the guts to actually say him that, not after they realize they are defeated because Ikkaku has a tactical advantage that they don't.

Of course Ikkaku grew serious when Ichigo ran his thumb on the cut on his head, seeing with some shock how the wound hissed and let a small trail of smoke out as it was cleanly cauterized, hell not even a scar was left of the wound there, just the blood around Ichigo's face and where once the wound was, Ikkaku rose an eyebrow at that, obviously another ability of the Rayearth of fire, all lieutenants had been briefly briefed about what a Rayearth could do, while they got the most battle oriented Rayearth of the trio know so far, it didn't meant they should think he was a brute that could shrug wounds and care little about wounds, or so Momo pointed to them, they were dealing with a force of nature with two legs and a sword, or so Nanao said, underestimating them could be very well the last mistake any shinigami could make, and that went obviously to the captains as well, if the rumors of Yamamoto telling them to go Bankai at first sight of the Rayearth and spare not even the shinigami fighting him was of any indication of how dangerous they could be, it was obvious that Yamamoto didn't want to take unnecessary risks with one of the Rayearth knights around.

With that in mind Ikkaku asked the question that changed the whole battle dynamic, "I know it doesn't matter much, but I want to know the name of your sensei" Ikkaku asked, making Yumichika raise a delicate eyebrow, it was odd already that Ikkaku was striking a conversation with an enemy, but asking who was his sensei? Now that was just above his odd-meter.

"I can't say he is my sensei since he only taught me for ten days, but he taught me how to fight" Ichigo replied, Yumichika, and by extension Ichigo and Ikkaku ignored the ruffle of feathers of Fira who was muttering about 'then who the hell taught you how to break an arm in 25 different parts with just a movement, Santa?'

"Then? Who is it?" Ikkaku asked, genuine curiosity, if the fact that a bird seemed to have taught Ichigo a way to break someone's arm in 25 different parts with just one movement was of any indication, and the way he is fighting, and was taught only in ten days, then his sensei or mentor must be a genius, that or a slave driver.

"He calls himself Kisuke Urahara" Ichigo answered, seeing the shocked expression of Ikkaku, but not of Yumichika.

"_Shit me sideways, Urahara taught him himself, that's unreal, no wonder now why he fights so well" _Yumichika thought surprised, hell he could see the surprise on Ikkaku's face, and was not for nothing, Urahara was a man whose power was reckoned with, even if he former captain of the 12th division and reason why Mayuri the psycho clown of hell was released.

"I see…" Ikkaku silently said, making Yumichika grow concerned by that, "Then it would be an insult to you if I don't fight with all I got" Ikkaku said simply, Ichigo then saw how Ikkaku slammed his Zanpakutou hilt on the sheath of if, hard, "Grow, Hōzukimaru!!" Ikkaku yelled, to Ichigo shocked eyes, the katana and the sheath changed forms instantly, now on Ikkaku's hand lay a naginata with a wax wood shaft, and a red horsehair tassel on the pommel of it.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at that, at first sight the thing might not look too intimidating, just like Urahara's Benihime in her released state, but if he had learned something was that when a shinigami releases their Zanpakutou, the moment they becomes something else, the battle dynamic changes entirely, the battle with Renji and his dented sword Zabiramu and Urahara with Benihime taught him that, at least with that form, it was easier to predict the attacks and the distance of each attack, he hoped, also he had learned that shinigami were masters of the mystery when it came to their combat powers, he had the feeling Urahara had not gone full power on him on their training, of course Renji and Byakuya had limiters on, as Unohana mentioned, so it was obvious they had defeated him while being hampered, a blow on his ego he dare say.

"There is no time to be shocked! Here I go, Ichigo!!" Ikkaku screamed, flicking the new form of Hōzukimaru at Ichigo, by his part Ichigo used Ignis to parry the first stab move easily, then it became a pattern as Ikkaku tried to stab Ichigo, "Don't miscalculate Ichigo!"

"As if" Ichigo exclaimed, "Your naginata is a long range weapon, there is no way I'm going to miscalculate" Ichigo exclaimed, now blocking the blunt section of the naginata, "Is not that way" Ikkaku exclaimed oddly seriously, flicking Hōzukimaru over his shoulder, all ready to bring it down to Ichigo, "Chance" Ichigo exclaimed rushing at Ikkaku who brought Hōzukimaru down to cut Ichigo, just to Ichigo to flick Ignis and keep Hōzukimaru away of him, advancing, that was a mistake Fira noticed.

"SPLIT!" Ikkaku screamed, the moment he screamed that, Hōzukimaru wax wooden staff divided on three sections linked by a chain each, much to the shock of Ichigo, who saw with shock as the blade that he had avoided was now on his right, ready to cut his right eye off…

* * *

Some things, Uryuu believes are already beyond crazy ever since he met Ichigo and saw him deflect a cero fire point-blank at him by a Gillian, a Gillian by crying out loud! With an oversized Zanpakutou that was more a lump of metal and waste of space than an elegant and powerful Zanpakutou, this feeling was reaffirmed the moment he confirmed with his very own eyes that Ichigo was a Rayearth, and prior to that, he was responsible for the sudden apparition of Orihime's and Chad's powers, powers that were beyond standards, ever for a Quincy or a shinigami.

Now that feeling got doubled because of three things, one he is storming Seireitei, two he is storming Seireitei with Orihime Inoune, not exactly the best choice for wingman and support he dare say, and third he is storming Seireitei with Orihime Inoune and they are currently staring at the most bizarre thing ever, shinigami fighting…something dress in rags is the best description.

Long black rags of robes covered their bodies completely; skeletical pale hands held rusted and dented swords while a hood covered their faces, they moved en masses, he counted roughly fifty in the group that battled against the shinigami that were chasing them, thirty shinigami against fifty…whatever the hell they were, he dare say they are related to Ichigo new status as Rayearth of fire, worse of it, they seemed to learn an adapt into combat, they lost ten of their numbers against the shinigami before they began to fight back…hard, it wouldn't be long before the shinigami got slaughtered on the spot if that carried on.

Uryuu knew something by just watching that battle take place in front of him, he and Orihime had to get the hell out of there fast, because both sides were aiming at them, why? One word, Ichigo.

Ever since Ichigo became a Rayearth…no, ever since he became a shinigami, his life, and by default the life of everyone around Ichigo became a roller coaster, of that he was certain, it was not every day that he found out that the man he swore to defeat was in fact a Rayearth, that he get to meet one of the four guardians, and of course he never imagined that he would be invading Seireitei to rescue a shinigami of all people.

"_My ancestors must be rolling on their graves for what I'm doing" _he thought, while it might be partially true that his ancestors must be hating him for helping the people that condemned the whole Quincy race into extinction, they would be surely proud by the fact that one Quincy stepped into Seireitei and has been attacking shinigami in their own home, something the Quincy were unable to do during their war against the shinigami.

Deciding that it was better to leave the area, leave the two forces to kill each other and think if his ancestors ghosts would haunt him from now on after he escaped, he grabbed Orihime by the wrist, moving her gently out of the way, she was still a girl, and while her head might be as hard as a hammer (his jaw can give a truthful testimony of Orihime's hard as diamond skull) she was still delicate, and his father taught him to treat every woman as a china doll…with the exception of shinigami woman, they are fair game to hit, wound and overall attack if they were men.

But that would not happen, the moment he and Orihime took the first step away, one of the creatures head turned to face them, he couldn't see their faces due to the hood casting a shadow over its face, but somehow he was glad because he dreaded to see the face of those things after seeing their eyes, those crimson eyes that glowed with their own light, malicious, staring at him straight in the eyes, judging him, seizing him, not even hollows had that stare, the look of a hollow was one of an animal on primal rage, at least one can expect something out of an animal, being savage, but the look of those eyes…it was evil, simply put, evil, that thing wanted him, Orihime and the shinigami dead.

_**The smell…**_

The creature hiss like voice drove a chill to Uryuu's spine; he didn't want to know how Orihime might feel after hearing that kind of voice.

_**That stench, the stench of a knight, on them…**_

Uryuu's eyes widened, that thing just said that it smelled Ichigo on them, now that was just wrong…unless it was Ichigo reiatsu leftovers, truth to be told Ichigo kept pouring energy like a cascade even when he is not angry, the fact that the energy now came with heat included was…far better than being crushed to death by a shinigami presence, or so his dad has told him about a shinigami using reiatsu for intimidation.

_**Death, death to the allies of the Rayearth, death to the family of the Rayearth, death to them all…**_

As on cue, nine of the creatures turned their heads at the same time at Uryuu and Orihime direction, red eyes staring at them with malice, raising their rusted blades at the same time, and with a chilling scream they charged at them with speed that surprised even him.

With a flick of his wrist, Kojaku, his trusty bow materialized on his right hand, instead of a pure blue energy bow he used before, now a solid bow on his gloved hand, intricate white patterns covered the black bow while this one seemed to be attached to Uryuu's wrist by a series of thin struts very close to the bow body.

Grabbing the cord of the bow in his fingers, he tensed it up, a blue energy arrow forming on his fingers, then aimed and let the arrow fly towards the first of the group, the arrow kinking the creature on the right shoulder, yet it did nothing to stop the thing, only leaving a hole where the arrow hit and succeeding in angering the thing if the hiss/roar was of any indication.

Advancing even faster than before, Uryuu slightly panicked, not that anyone can blame him, he didn't knew he was facing the horde army of the dark lord, the wraiths, firing three more arrows at other targets, he found out with surprise, just like the Rayearth of wind of one frightening feature of the wraiths, they learn their opponents movements in a move, and unlike the Rayearth of wind, he saw other frightening feature of the creatures, they share knowledge, what one learns, the others do too.

_**Pathetic…we shall butcher you as we will butcher the Rayearth and its family…**_

Apparently that was something bad to say in front of Orihime, as Uryuu discovered in a rather brutal fashion…

"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun! I reject!" Uryuu knows little of Orihime he admits, while she has the body of a super model and the killer instinct of a rock, he knows by a simple glance of her eyes that she, unlike Rukia or Fira, she doesn't has a desire for blood or the utter defeat of their opponent in a bloody and efficient way, so it was a surprise when he turned around and instead of the gentle eyes he was used to see in Orihime, this was replaced by what can be referred as pure, untamed rage and bloodlust, along with determination, he idly toyed with the idea that perhaps the creature's speech of hurting Ichigo had set her off.

Truth to be told, when he asked her later, Orihime admitted that she did it because of Tatsuki and Ichigo sisters, and not because Ichigo, because she knew he was more than capable of fending himself off.

A yellow…something zoomed off Orihime's hairpins, and much to Uryuu's shock and newly developed horror on to piss super powered woman, the yellow thing neatly separated the head of one of the creatures of its neck, then zoomed back, cutting from the waist down another one easily, then if went upwards, and then fell downwards to another creature, cutting it in half easily, by then Uryuu realized that the creatures were now focused on the yellow thing, that and the creatures dark blood that seemed like tar coming out of the mutilated creatures, the thing was so fast that in less than a minute, the ten creatures were reduced to a pile of mutilated limbs and black blood, but it seemed that Orihime's newly found bloodlust wasn't satisfied yet.

The yellow flying beam as he found a name to identify to began to basically cut down the other creatures in the same fashion, efficiency and brutality that the other ten fell, to top it off, once the shinigami realized that Orihime was the reason their enemies were being cut down and turned to her to attack her, the little yellow thing turned on them, and in less than a minute, their zanpakutous were cut down easily, Uryuu did noted that perhaps their Zanpakutou were like Ichigo's former Zanpakutou, it had little reiatsu in it, surely those shinigami were un-seated officers, meaning no problems in one-to-one combat.

Seeing that the shinigami had dumbstruck expressions on their faces as they stared at their broken zanpakutous, and the yellow thing was orbiting around Orihime, he seized his chance, he grabbed the girl by the arm and ran with her, as far as he could of the shinigami, when he felt that he had took a good distance of them, he turned around, seeing with some amusement how the shinigami were just recovering their wits and chasing them down.

**BOOM!!**

Only to stop their pursue when a…thunderbolt crashed on the ground, lifting dust and pieces of the street where it hit, he rose and eyebrow at that very opportune happening, not that he was going to stop to wait and see their new 'friend' if can be called like that, so he continued to run with Orihime on tow and the yellow thing still orbiting around her, they would only stop until they found a place to lay low for a while.

Neither of them noticed the blond child in orange clothes, green jade eyes with cat slits staring at them and smiling, of course they would not notice it because the boy was basically seated on a cloud, watching with a mischievous smile at the people down, seeing how the shinigami acted as headless chickens and wondering what was happening, then that smile grew a tad feral, showing white teeth, and very long and sharp fangs.

"**Now…to make sure that mockery of a scientist knows what happens when he helps extinguish a race of valiant and proud individuals"**

* * *

Ikkaku had to hand it over to Ichigo; his reaction time was flawless to say the least, he was certain that Ichigo would be lacking an eye after his attack, but instead now the orange haired Ryoka sported a rather nasty cut on his right forearm that he used as shield to protect himself of the blade of Hōzukimaru.

"I gotta admit, you know how to defend yourself" Ikkaku chuckled, "But I bet that you can't do shit with that arm now as it is" Ikkaku said…

The next thing he knows is that he had to eat his words when Ichigo swung Zangetsu down, it was just his time as a shinigami, training and above all superior experience on combat that saved him of getting cut in two, he brought Hōzukimaru up, the chains blocking Zangetsu's blade easily, then he brought the staff end together, trapping Zangetsu, then jumped, all intent on kicking Ichigo.

"Bad idea" then, much to his horror, Ichigo exhaled a fireball out of his mouth, hitting the airborne Ikkaku on the chest, sending the shinigami flying away towards the ground, rolling a little on the ground, Ikkaku stabbed Hōzukimaru on the ground, stopping himself after such miscalculation of his part, he had to expect something like that of the Rayearth of fire, hell the name basically screamed what the Rayearth could do, fire was at his command, fire was his freaking weapon, how could he overlook something so simple?

As Ikkaku regained his bearings after the attack that burned part of his upper robes, Yumichika slowly stood up, then brought his Zanpakutou to bear, it was obvious this opponent was going to be defeated in just one way, if he and Ikkaku fought together against him, "Bloom, Fuji Kujaku" Yumichika hissed, his Zanpakutou blade slowly changing to the form of a sickle, yet Ichigo noticed that the cutting part of the sickle was on the inside of the blade curve, he also noticed that the base of the blade, near the hilt had a hinge, suddenly he found out why it had a hinge as three more sickle like blades appeared, "You're not going to win so easily Rayearth" Yumichika hissed angrily, while there were little things that could set him off, seeing Ikkaku of all people getting wounded was one of them, that and the fact Ikkaku was down in such an ugly manner didn't help either.

He charged at Ichigo, ignoring the cry of protest of Ikkaku, bringing Fuji Kujaku down, he was unable to counter the sudden block of Ignis, which easily cut down Fuji Kujaku four blades easily, Yumichika stood in shock as he saw his Zanpakutou being cut down so easily without even an effort, Yumichika took two steps backs, trying to make some space between him and the Rayearth, only to feel like if a punch of the size of a person had hit him, sending him flying to a wall, crashing into it and collapsing it over him, he didn't stood of that so easily.

Upon seeing that, Ikkaku stood up, angry at Yumichika for acting so recklessly against his opponent, and of course for attacking his opponent, this was his fight, not his.

With a snarl, Ikkaku launched himself at Ichigo, knowing too well now that Ignis could cut down a Zanpakutou as easily a Zanpakutou can cut down a hollow, he realized now, Ichigo was serious on his intentions, whatever they were.

Launching himself at Ichigo and separating Hōzukimaru again he launched the first strike, swinging Hōzukimaru as a flail, the sharp blade aimed at Ichigo, Ichigo simply flicked Zangetsu's flat edge, then launched himself at Ikkaku, just to stop when the blunt end of Hōzukimaru almost nicked him on the nose, seeing an opening, Ichigo rose Zangetsu over his shoulder and brought it down, only to Ikkaku to move out of the way.

**BOOM!!**

The wall behind Ikkaku, along with part of the street was leveled when Zangetsu impacted, raising smoke and rock along the way, blocking his sight of Ichigo, suddenly a piece of wall shot at him, only to be split apart by Hōzukimaru, Ikkaku grinded like a madman at that strategy, using the environment for his advantage, quite an idea, but not…

The idea died out when the smoke settled out, and exposed a bunch or rocks levitating around Ichigo, when Ichigo narrowed his eyes, the rocks suddenly ignited in flames, making Ikkaku gape, one thing is facing a Kidou user, but floating rocks that suddenly ignite at someone just narrowing his eyes…that's just wrong.

The rocks began to fly at Ikkaku who began to use Hōzukimaru to deflect each rock with ease and brutal efficiency, yet he wondered what Ichigo was trying to accomplish.

His answer came when Ichigo stabbed Zangetsu and Ignis on the ground at his sides, and then raised his right hand at him, two fingers aimed at him.

"_Okay Ichigo, remember what Fira, said, all spiritual based techniques are open to everyone, gather your reiatsu on your fingers, as much as you can on a small area, hold it as much as you can…then let it fly" _to the shocked gaze of Ikkaku, blue energy began to gather around Ichigo fingers, swirling, condensing around his fingers in the shape of a marble, something Ikkaku has only seen on hollows so far.

"It can't be…"

"CERO!" Ikkaku had to jump away as a blue cero was fired to him, basically leveling the ground where he stood, taking also several walls behind Ikkaku, as the beam died out, Ikkaku was able to stand up, seeing the destruction of Ichigo's cero…hell he was still trying to come with grips with the fact that Ichigo just fired a cero, a hollow technique, of course curiosity was burning him.

"How the hell you did that!? Cero is a hollow technique!" Ikkaku all but screamed in shock, "Is a spiritual technique…besides I had a good teacher" Ichigo jabbed a finger at the perched form of Fira, "Like she said once, the sky's the limit" Ichigo then pulled Zangetsu, letting Ignis vanish in a flash of fire and spark, surprising Ikkaku, of course Ikkaku noticed that Ichigo was breathing heavily, maybe the cero took much more than reiatsu to be fired by a shinigami, perhaps it required also to physically exert himself also, maybe that was the reason no one dared to try to use a cero, that and perhaps because it was a hollow technique, and central 46 has made it quite clear, shinigami using hollow techniques, no matter how small are to be executed.

"You certainly are going to get it do you know?" Ichigo snorted, "Of course, believe it or not Fira here filled my with the laws of Soul Society, I know what I'm getting myself into, in fact in yearning to gather more attention, perhaps another cero aimed at that hill will do the trick, don't ya think" Ikkaku blinked at that declaration…

Then he cracked a smile, then laughed, laughed like a madman, throwing his head back and directing his laughter to the sky, "You are crazy Ichigo! I like that attitude!" Ikkaku declared with a wide smirk, "Now, before we battle more, what are you really doing here? What drives one of the rayearths to storm Seireitei without a reason?" Ikkaku asked with genuine curiosity, while he had a sneaky idea that might be the all Kuchiki thing, he had to be sure.

For a minute Ichigo remained silent, then grabbed Zangetsu with both hands, and looked at Ikkaku straight in the eyes, brown eyes now burning, in all the sense, Ikkaku could basically see flames in the irises of Ichigo.

"I'm here for a friend, she changed my life, and if I have to turn this place into a wasteland to rescue her, if I have to waste every single shinigami that opposes me to get to her, so be it!" Ichigo declared, making Ikkaku smirk grown more, if possible, "You know, that kind of thoughts would land you straight into the 11th division, I await eager the day you join us there so we can have a proper spar!" and with that Ikkaku and Ichigo launched at each other at the same time.

Ichigo, much to Ikkaku's surprise, launched a fist, instead of trying to cut him with his Zanpakutou, Ikkaku just brought his Zanpakutou to block the impact, much to his shock he recoiled after such vicious left jab, taking several steps back after that surprise attack he launched Hōzukimaru against Ichigo like a whip, the blade aimed to his chest, but Ichigo flicked Zangetsu near his chest, deflecting the deadly blade, Ichigo eyes widened however when Ikkaku was out of his line of sight, "The hell…" closing his eyes, Ichigo let his newly acquired and obviously reiatsu proof 'fiery sense' to find Ikkaku for him, it didn't disappoint him of course, Ichigo 'fiery sense' was basically a way to find a person's inner fire, be it human or shinigami, it was reiatsu proof and there was no way to hide the inner fire as Fira said to him, only death could do that, and even then he could sense the warmth of that fire even after extinguished.

Shinigami, being souls was something different, the inner fire was on a person's soul, meaning that when they physical bodies passed away, their souls that went to Soul Society would still held it, to make it clearer, a living being inner fire was like a candle in the night, a spirit inner's fire was like napalm being fired on the darkness, brighter, hotter, easier to find.

He wasn't disappointed when a millisecond later he felt Ikkaku's inner fire, on his right flank, turning his head so fast both in surprise and shock, both because Ikkaku moved to his flank that fast, he was able to raise Zangetsu to block the blade that nearly separated his neck in two, as spark fly he didn't noticed that the last end of Hōzukimaru until this one impacted on his face, making him fall, hard, shaking his head after that impact, Ichigo was able to raise his sight at the smirking Ikkaku, "Still, with all that power…you're still to slow" Ikkaku commented.

"Slow eh?" Ichigo commented drily, rising Zangetsu slowly, "Yeah!" Ikkaku shouted as he rushed at Ichigo, Hōzukimaru now on its lance form, Ikkaku began to try an impale Ichigo several times, but every time he tried that, Ichigo parried with Zangetsu, much to Ichigo's anger he had to take several steps back every time he did so, giving Ikkaku some advantage in each step.

"You're slacking off Ichigo!"

"Don't take me lightly" Ichigo hissed, now advancing and swinging Zangetsu, Ikkaku dodged the first three swings, the fourth however he was prepared, on the fourth swing Ikkaku blocked the hit, then Hōzukimaru broke on its first section, with a flick of his wrist Hōzukimaru coiled around Zangetsu's blade, trapping it, then yanked it, making Ichigo stumble in surprise, Ikkaku then jumped and kicked Ichigo on the face, the strength of the blow allowed Ikkaku to do a somersault and land near a wall upper section.

"Hōzukimaru's attack always change Ichigo, they are impossible to predict" Ikkaku declared while standing on a higher ground, "I told you Ikkaku" Ichigo began, "Don't underestimate me!" with that Ichigo suddenly ran at the wall where Ikkaku was, then rammed his left fist at it, causing the wall to break upon contact, Ikkaku jumped at the last second, landing on the ground, seeing how a piece of the wall fell down.

Surprised by the display of brute strength, it was clear that he didn't use spiritual energy to enhance his blow; he only saw a black and orange blur basically leap onto the sky, when he realized it was Ichigo who had leaped, he raised Hōzukimaru to block yet another sky blow.

"Never underestimate me!" Ichigo all but screamed, eyes blazing, in all the sense of the word, with a roar he brought Zangetsu down.

**BAMM!!!**

Blood fell to the ground, a small pool of blood forming on his feet, yet he didn't realize it until his nerves finally caught up and transmitted the emotion to his brain, eyes wide, Ikkaku saw his own blood on the ground, a vicious cut that began from his left shoulder, traveling to his chest and ending near his left side of his ribcage, what shocked him the most was that Hōzukimaru was unable to stop the blow, in fact Ikkaku now held the now broken staff of Hōzukimaru on his hands, neatly cut.

Stumbling a little behind, Ikkaku glared at Ichigo, some sweat forming on his brow, "It's over Ikkaku" Ichigo declared, standing firmly on the spot he landed, looking at Ikkaku straight in the eyes, Ikkaku answer was to toss part of Hōzukimaru behind him, "Is not over Ichigo, I'm still standing, I still hold my weapon, I can still fight!"

"Lower it Ikkaku, you lost" Ichigo declared firmly, Ikkaku's only answer was to shot at Ichigo, running at top speed.

Ichigo only kept looking at Ikkaku and the odd patter he made as he ran, how he moved from one side to the other while he ran…just like Urahara did once.

"I told you to stand down!" Ichigo screamed as he swung Zangetsu upwards the moment Ikkaku was near him, the resulting swing cut Ikkaku's right arm gravely, basically tearing the right sleeve of his robes easily, blood sprayed of the wound of Ikkaku as he was stopped dead on his tracks, yet that ear-to-ear grin never left his face as he stumbled backwards a few seconds later.

"Damn…you're strong…shit" Ikkaku whispered as he kneeled, blood pouring of both of his wounds, "…I…was…unlucky" and with that Ikkaku collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

The pain like hisses filled the streets of Seireitei, black robed creatures moved swiftly around the damaged streets, only to be punched back and hissing in pain by the big fist of Chad, the giant of a man stared at the things with impassive eyes, his right arm completely covered in a black like tar substance armor with a dark magenta stripe running down the middle of the arm, two wing like protuberances accommodated at each side of his wrist, a fin that starts at the beginning of his shoulder in the shape of an 'U' it could be best described.

Brazo derecha de gigante was the name of Sado's armored arm, and so far has lived up for its name against the things that were attacking him, Ganju and to top it off a captain, while the guy, with his pink haori over his captain robes and that straw hat didn't seem much of a captain, he prove to be quite a fearsome on combat as he could appreciate, twenty corpses of the things lay on his feet, headless, tar like blood oozing off their necks, he was not so far behind, ten of the creatures lay stamped on the walls, huge holes on their chests evidence of the vicious killing blow, Ganju had five of them on his count, dead as well, not as gracefully as the captain was, but it did the deed.

"You know" the captain began, "I never imagined that I would actually live long enough to meet a wraith" the captain stated, "Wraith?" Chad asked, "Yes, I heard their names of a former subordinate of a friend of mine, creatures that…are dark in all the sense of the word, although I wonder where they came from" the captain said, not noticing that a female shinigami with a huge book rounded the corner, adjusting her lenses upon the sight of the dead wraiths and the people with her captain.

"Taichou…they are the invading Ryoka" she began, "Nanao-chan, did you already forget what we talked about with Unohana-sempai?" the woman visibly paled upon the mention of that name; "If the Sotaichou finds out…" she began.

"He won't Nanao-chan, what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him" the captain said simply, turning his head and staring at one of the heads of the wraiths…

_**Allies of the rayearths beware…**_

"T-that head spoke!" Ganju spoke, clearly surprised as Chad, the captain and Nanao, "Impossible" Nanao breathed.

_**Not impossible you whore, darkness is inevitable, and our lord shall-**_

Whatever the head tried to say ended abruptly when the captain stomped the head with a sickening crunch of bones, "I don't like people who speak ill of fine women" he said simply, then he turned to Chad and Ganju, "Excuse me for my outburst Ryoka boy, but I trend to lose it when someone speaks ill of women, they are gifts to us men, therefore we must treat them well, Shunsui Kyōraku at your service, captain of the 8th division" the man identified himself, "The fine woman behind me is my Fukutaichou, Nanao Ise, now I believed we have some business to attend to" Shunsui said, turning around, but feeling that neither Chad and Ganju moved.

"I assure you that I don' intend to lead you to an ambush, I am more than capable of fighting you two alone and without the need to release my Shikai, but someone warned me that attacking you would bring upon the wrath of the Rayearth upon my division, and honestly said I have worked very hard to have that place as it is and to be then turned into molten glass by the rage of the Rayearth of fire" Shunsui stated simply, "Besides, if what Unohana-sempai said is true…then we have a common enemy, a common goal, and no reason to fight"

* * *

Ichigo walked away of the scene of fight, Ikkaku and Yumichika were alive, he was certain of that, Yumichika had only some broken bones, more because he had used a powerful telekinetic blast to send him away, Ikkaku's wounds were sealed by his own medicine, but he was on no condition to fight altogether, but while Yumichika remained unconscious, Ikkaku had regained consciousness a while later, and he had answered his questions…after the guy berated himself for being defeated and not killed.

As Ichigo made his way away, Fira perched on his shoulder (and after the after mentioned bird left one single feather to Yumichika for his early compliment about her) he pondered the information Ikkaku gave him, while he could feel that Ikkaku didn't lie to him about the possible location of Rukia, a big white tower past south and beyond the barracks of several divisions, while he was all or the idea of basically making a beeline of destruction, fire and possibly lava to make it to the white tower, it would only drawn unwanted attention, it was not because he lacks power, he has power in spades, he can feel even now how his Rayearth powers grow even more with each passing second, he was more worried about the warning Ikkaku gave him about his captain.

"_He doesn't care for weaklings…he only seek strong opponents to fight, if what you said about yourself is true, he will come for you, remember his name…Zaraki Kenpachi"_

The name alone was enough daunting to creep anyone, and Fira had said to him that the name Kenpachi had a history, even on Crystalia, a very bloodstained story, what worried him was what would happen if his intentions to rescue Rukia were divulged, if that were to be found out…either Rukia would be put in even more danger, or worse, she could be used for a bait for an ambush, he had to be careful about that.

As he rounded a corner, his eyes widened when he crossed paths with the last person he wanted to meet.

"Hello, Kurosaki-san, it's been a while, tell me, how is Isshin doing?" he crossed Retsu Unohana, and the fact she was smiling and a pair of shinigami were poking their heads behind her to see him kinda freaked him out.

"**What a smile, at least it has more warm than before" **and as usual Fira made the not needed remark.

* * *

_and that's a wrap on this chapter, shoirt yes i know, compared to my last one this one is insanely short, but as i promised it began with action, from now on there will be lots of action in the chapters, some things will be revealed, seireitei will be shaken to its very core, and a cookie to whoever realizes who really are the people who posed as naruto and danny in this chapter, now for the chapter preview, enjoy!_

* * *

**_The battle continues on the streets..._**

"It can't be...wraiths! holy crap they are wraiths!"

**_The enemy is everywhere..._**

"Now we can make this easier or harder Madarame-san...tell me where is the rayearth"

**_Allies are few..._**

"This is my seventh seat, I want you to take him with you...he knows roads you don't"

**_And in the mist of it all stands the schemer, waiting, expecting..._**

"Things are getting complicated Gin...but the plan will carry on as expected"

**_In the next chapter of Rayearth knights: Ichigo the Inferno, Hidden Pinneapple Crouching Strawberry..._**

"Is your fault she is in that position now! Howl! Zabimaru!!!"

**_The battle will carry on..._**

"You know Momo-chan...i never knew you had boobs"

_**And someone is going to get bitchslapped...hard...**_

**_

* * *

_**there you have it people, till a next time Hypn0s signs off!


	8. 7:Hidden Pinneapple Crouching strawberry

_Hello you lot, I AM BACK! hypn0s returns after i don't how long after writting the last chapter of ichigo the inferno, i admit that it took me a lot of time, and some of you were growing restless, hell some of you were about to bite my head off if you knew where I reside, and i don't blame you at all, i was also growing restless, i had this nasty writter's block that was cured with a dose of Harry Potter AU story i made and its quite popular with people who like an HP story which is AU and haa Harry with an attitude, as he was supposse to be dammit, now enoigh of that, i give you all my new chapter, and since summer vacations began i will have extra time to work on the stories, now people, enjoy._

* * *

**CHAPTER 7: HIDDEN PINNEAPPLE CROUCHING STRAWBERRY**

Ichigo, truth to be told expected anyone, even the so called Sotaichou, the first shinigami to ever face a Rayearth on combat, hell he could care less if he crossed Rukia's ass of a brother, but of all people he had to cross her, his dad's ex-girlfriend, how the hell that happened he wasn't certain, hell the fact that his dad had married a human instead of a shinigami still concerned him, he never told him and the girls why he left his former life behind, just that he 'grew tired of it' and he had met their mother, who had lured him away even more of the life of a shinigami.

Remembering that their first encounter had begun because the Sotaichou was afraid of him, wanted him and his family dead, send Unohana to kill them and had ended because his father had appeared before her, and Fira had overpowered her in every sense of the word, Ichigo summoned Ignus, the Rayearth blade had proven to be more than effective against any kind of Zanpakutou or shinigami, no matter if it was the blade of a captain or the blade of a unseated officer, the Rayearth blade would cut trough anything, with the proper strength behind it of course.

"I'm not here to fight Kurosaki-san" Unohana said sternly, any trace of her warm smile vanished in less than a second, "Pure bull Unohana, last time I saw you and that so called elegant look you were for the blood of me and my family!" Ichigo snapped, gripping Ignus with both of his hands.

"Taichou…" the silver haired woman behind Unohana whispered loud enough to Ichigo to listen, "Not now Isane, while I admit that our first encounter and revelations of that night were forced because of the fear of the Sotaichou, and you can't blame him of that, there have been very few beings that have overpowered him, Vasto Lorde class hollows in particular and yet they can be defeated, but you weren't there that day, he was quickly and brutally overpowered, in 2000 years he was never defeated so fast and so easily, I assure you Kurosaki-san, his fear and anger against the Rayearth knights is well justified…but only fueled with rage, I believe that by the end of this ordeal, he will mellow, if just a little"

"And what assures me that is my family life on the line here! I swear if he keeps this up I'm going to burn this place to the ground with everyone inside to boot once I rescue Rukia and I'm going to force him to watch it!" Ichigo hissed angrily.

"Of that I have little doubt Kurosaki-san, you have the means to do so I'm afraid, yet you have to remember that all Seireitei will stand against you if you follow that path, of course if that happens I can blame the Sotaichou for the destruction of our home" Unohana said softly, yet her voice held a serious edge that freaked everyone on the vicinity, simply because it was true, painfully true.

As the tension slightly rose, Unohana serious expression suddenly shifted to a cheery one, "I have a gift for you Kurosaki-san" She said, finally bringing the two shinigami behind her to the front, "My lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu" she said as she padded the sliver haired woman, "And my seventh seat, Hanatarou Yamada"

"Okay…I'll bite, does this gift relate to any of them?" she nodded, "Your…entrance for the lack of better words caused such a stir on Seireitei that basically diminished our forces, maybe you can't feel it, because of your never ending leaking reiatsu that saturates you and blinds your senses to other reiatsu signs, but when you broke the imperial barrier you drowned Seireitei with your reiatsu, you blinded any shinigami that was dependant on feeling reiatsu to find you, the fact alone that the Sotaichou hasn't found you yet speaks monuments of the amount of energy that drowns even his own reiatsu" she said seriously, much to the shock of Hanatarou and Isane.

"That I know thanks to Fira" Ichigo said, pointing to the bird perched on his shoulders, "What's the point anyway?" he asked, "Simple, if you continue to advance in the way you do now, eventually you will be wounded beyond your healing capabilities, you need to think, to maneuver yourself, you don't know Seireitei"

"I can fight my way in very well" Ichigo countered, "The last Rayearth I fought was strong enough to overpower the Sotaichou, wound him, she broke his Zanpakutou with her bare hands, she almost cut me in two with her sword when I intervened, the Sotaichou Bankai was useless, my Bankai was useless, and she was the Rayearth of wind, unlike you, the Rayearth of fire, who thrives on battles, you are still a long way to master all your powers, I can see that, the gap between you and the Rayearth that nearly killed me is great, if you continue as now you will die eventually, right now only captains, lieutenants and seated officers remain standing, and even they found hard to remain standing, a coordinated assault could overwhelm you, they would kill you and then Rukia will die because you failed to think the bigger picture" Unohana said sternly.

"And that is?"

"If you fail here, not only Rukia will die, but everyone related to him, eventually Yamamoto will find about your family whereabouts, and he won't hesitate to kill him and your sisters, trust me on that, his rage clouds his judgment, right now he has ordered a kill on sight on you, and he won't bate an eyelash if your friends are captured, in fact he will encourage torture to them, thankfully I was able to procure some allies before this, all that there is to do now is to rescue Rukia and uncover the deception behind her sentence"

"Deception?" Ichigo asked in real surprise, it was then when Isane put her two cents on the conversation, "It is true, illegally transferring the powers of a shinigami to a human, while is a death sentence, is not warrant to be fulfilled with THAT method" she said, "What method?" Ichigo asked.

"**A method that basically undermines the power of fire and insults my very existence by using it, the Sōkyoku" **Fira spoke, freaking Isane and Hanatarou, "The Sōkyoku in normal terms, is the ultimate punishment, reserved only for captain class shinigamis, a massive halberd with the power of a million released zanpakutous, when it pierces the criminal, the power increases to a factor of 10, basically saying, nothing can survive it, the soul is utterly destroyed, and cannot join the cycle of rebirth, its existence erased of the face of this universe for good" Unohana said, "…Just like what you and the Sotaichou did to the hollow that the Rayearth of wind tried to turn into a plus…" Ichigo muttered.

"Indeed, while the blame of the action falls squarely on the shoulders of Yamamoto, my lack of intervention also caused the major tragedy, have I stopped Yamamoto, he wouldn't have been humiliated so badly, I would have not been so close to death as I was that day, and I would not have spend the next 300 years bearing a smile and acting gently even in combat, that is not the true me, the true me smiles, true, is gentle, but also fights, and when does so it does it efficiently and without a smile or a gentle nature, being gentle on a battle is like asking to be killed" Unohana spoke, "But enough about me, let's talk about what you must do now" she said seriously.

"The 4th division, while I'm saddened to admit, is less to some shinigami as the janitors around Seireitei, my people, MY shinigami are put to clean the streets and unclog the sewers like if they were mere grunts, MY shinigami, who all Seireitei shinigami owe their lives, without us they would have died, and obviously the 11th division would have the highest fatality rate because that brute of Kenpachi believes that fighting to the death is training" she said, while she didn't show it, she was clearly angry, as the fact that her own lieutenant and seventh seat were now behind a very pale Ichigo, perhaps they believed that hiding behind the Rayearth of fire would be far safer that being even close to Unohana, of course they failed to notice that Ichigo was pale as a bone and was wondering why all girls he met seemed to shift moods in a blink, at least he has yet to see Orihime angry.

As it seemed the only way to express her anger, Unohana let loose her reiatsu, where not even Ichigo knew, but if the sudden flattening of a wall at the left of Unohana was of any indication of where she let her anger exploit was of any indication he didn't show any kind of surprise, he knew beforehand that she seemed able to manipulate her reiatsu into specifically points, instead of letting it loose on a wide area.

"I'm sorry" Unohana said, "I let my anger get the best of me, but it has been quite a while since I have been angry, rightfully angry…I guess 300 years of repressed anger does takes its toll" she said almost to herself, "But enough about that, to the matter at hand" she said, noticing that Ichigo still held Ignis on his hands, _"Keeps the guard up…good"_

"Hanatarou…behind you" Unohana began, pointing at the meek looking shinigami male behind Ichigo, "Like the rest of my division, know Seireitei like the palm of his hand, each path, each corner…each shortcut and secret passage" she said with a slight teasing tone and smile, something Ichigo caught up, "I…see…" Ichigo said, not lowering his guard.

"I'm glad you caught up, as I expect of Madarame-san, he should have told you already were Rukia is held, the white tower" Unohana began, turning around and pointing a massive white tower that basically towered over Seireitei, "Also known as the tower of penitence, those who are to be executed using the Sōkyoku are given…residence there, the tower has only one sight, the execution grounds, the prisoner spends his or her days seated, seeing the place of his or her demise, is called the tower of penitence because prisoners 'atone' their penitence's there, or it is to rub the fact they will die and no one will save them that I do not know" Unohana said.

"However, certain things about the capture of Rukia seem…odd at is best, including the sentence" Unohana continued, "Central 46 issued her capture just after an isolated incident with a Menos Grande just hours after happening"

"Me and Uryuu fought a…those things are called Menos Grande, I would call them mimes, they look like mimes" Ichigo said, "Yes…when your…mime, attacked Central 46 didn't hesitated in issuing a warrant for Rukia, sending no less than her brother and her best friend, a captain and his lieutenant no less, usually these affairs are dealt by the 2th division, but it seems this wasn't the case, not only that, while Rukia-san has the power to match a seated officer, sending a captain and a lieutenant, both far superior shinigami in all aspects to a seated officer seems…disturbing"

"You think that's disturbing, you weren't there, that red haired bastard actually wounded Rukia, I really doubt they were trying to capture her in the first place, it wasn't until I wounded him and the ass of her brother got in the way that they actually got her away" Ichigo snapped, "Oh yes, and I remember that you were the reason that both Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san were my guests in my division, I must thank you, it is odd to see other expression on Kuchiki-san face beside that eternal stone stern, he was in quite a pain after your battle against him, and of course he was scared when the Sotaichou found out of the existence of the Rayearth of fire out of his mouth…sadly he didn't know who he was dealing with, you can expect currently that he is looking for you for the insult you basically threw upon his shoulders" she said, slowly clapping her hands together, "Bravo, bravo, you brought shame to the Kuchiki clan and its head of the house, and he will seek retribution, bloody retribution" she added.

"Oh joy, I'm so delighted knowing that, by the way notice the sarcasm in that sentence"

"Hard not to, in any case, all this, brings some…unsettling truths to me" Unohana said, "Seireitei…no…the Gotei 13 captains have a traitor among their ranks" she said, "Excuse me? A traitor?"

"Yes, it is unheard off, mostly because most traitors records are destroyed, so few people know of their betrayal, for example what happened 100 years ago with Hiyori and her friends, to any shinigami below captain clearance, they are death, but to the captains and Central 46 they are most alive, proof of that came when you and Hiyori decided to put my division to work on several patients you kindly send"

"Not my fault, in my defense I was not the one who shoved that guy's head on the other guy's ass"

"Yeah…I had to actually sweat to pull that one out, quite a challenge considering the number of muscles in that cavity and the fact a head was introduced on such a small hole"

"As I said no my fault I just mauled, cut and burned, nothing else" Ichigo said to Unohana, "Okay, I'll ignore the fact that you and Hiyori-san put my medical expertise and my patience in test, if you accept my help" Unohana said, "If you want to reach the tower in time to save Rukia you will need to know Seireitei, its corners, alleys, streets, you do not, but Hanatarou-kun does, if you want to reach the tower with minimal conflict, and with time to spare you must accept my help, I have no doubt that as the day turns into night and you and your friends continue to cause havoc around, it will turn out suddenly why you came here, then her execution date will be moved, and that is the last thing we want" she stated.

Ichigo unconsciously raised Ignus again, eyeing at Unohana with a suspicious eye, "Why so interested in Rukia's safety?" Ichigo asked, "I will not deny that all this is tied, Rukia, you, the traitor, the mock of a trial and the sentence, whoever this traitor is has plans for Rukia or you, remember Ichigo, your father once was a highly powerful shinigami, I dare say as powerful as the Sotaichou itself, Rukia spend some time along with you and Urahara, who is known for being the founder of the research and technology division, he is smart, and was accounted as the reason Shinji and the others acquired hollow like powers, something must have happened while she was with you on the human world, something that got the attention of the traitor, whoever he is must want something Rukia has" she theorized, something Isane seemed to nod along the way, "Taichou, you might be right, the question is what?"

"Whatever it is" Ichigo began, "Must be pretty important to orchestrate this façade, hell it has to be planning this for a long time" Ichigo said, then in a flash of light and flames Ignus was gone of his hands, "Okay, I'll accept your help, but you double-cross me…consequences be dammed" Ichigo warned to Unohana who nodded stiffly, "I expect no less, although I have to stress the importance of Hanatarou-kun welfare, he is after all one of my shinigami and I would hate something happened to him, the consequences of this could be…disastrous" she said, all while smiling, of course the moment she uttered the last word, her all demeanor changed, eyes narrowed closely and dangerously, her blue eyes acquiring a hard steel edge that spooked Ichigo, Isane and Hanatarou who again sought shelter behind the new Rayearth of fire, not that it helped much.

"Are we clear?" Ichigo gulped at the stare of the female shinigami captain, but nodded, knowing that he could muster something similar, with different results (such as spontaneous combustion of the target) but that one would take some time.

"Good, Isane, let's go, I believe Kurosaki-san leave us a pair of shinigami who need our expertise" she said to the silver haired shinigami behind Ichigo, who immediately jumped into action when Unohana told her so, Ichigo suspected that if Unohana told her to jump of a ravine, Isane would do it without hesitation.

"…Did you knew my mom?" Ichigo asked suddenly, it was a random question yes, one that has been nagging him ever since she mentioned that his father was where he was because of 'that human and a Quincy' surely she meant Uryuu's father, who else, not that he knew the guy, but it seemed that Unohana did knew him, and the human that was with his father.

Suddenly Unohana stopped on her tracks, a tense silence fell around, "That…is an answer for another encounter…by your leave" she said as she walked away of Ichigo and Hanatarou, leaving a slightly serious Ichigo behind, "She knew my mother" Ichigo said off-handily.

"**Indeed, question is how much she knew her…bet ya two yens that she saw them on their honey…"**

"Fira" Ichigo warned, **"Oh please, it seems that your old man left her, hell I bet that he never broke with her to begin with"**

"I don't know" Ichigo said seriously, turning around to face Hanatarou, "Okay…uh…what's your name again?"

"Hanatarou…is an easy name to remember" the boy said, "Nope, is too hard" Ichigo said bluntly, making Hanatarou skulk, "You want to help me save Rukia?" the small boy nodded, "Then let's go, you can tell me why along the way" with that Ichigo walked away, Hanatarou on tow, not aware of the shadow behind them, one that was not exactly Unohana.

* * *

If a shinigami were to ask the Sotaichou how things were progressing so far with the Ryoka and the Rayearth of fire, that shinigami, without a shadow of a doubt would be turned into charcoal in the spot.

The sun was on its zenith, which meant it was noon, the Ryoka had breached Seireitei at dawn, and so far all has been utterly a freaking hell to say the least, the overall force of Seireitei was effectively cut in half when that purple orb basically shredded the imperial shield like tissue paper, the aftermath of that collision caused that half of the shinigami to faint by the sheer force of it, one quarter was wounded due to their bodies being stamped to the ground to the overwhelming pressure that followed, the rest was freaked out, all but the 11th division, which was actively looking the one responsible for such enormous attack, Kenpachi spearheading the search.

But even with the savages of the 11th things were looking bleak at is best, for one side the King had his eyes on them, proof of that was the fact the imperial shield was casted on Seireitei, now that the shield was down, it was obvious things were going to get ugly, fast, another thing was that it seemed that the Ryoka intrusion woke something, proof of this was the massacre that was the Maggot's nest, the poor fools had no chance against whatever the hell had come out of that freaking hole, but considering that Mayuri had came out of that hole in the first place…

Shaking his head, Yamamoto began to wonder what to do now, things were getting out of hand, fast, whenever the Ryoka went, chaos followed, they left a trail of destruction and chaos, just to say that several shinigami got their Zanpakutou cut like nothing and they had yet to pick the remains of whatever the hell was back there and clean the black blood, not to mention that the third and fifth seat of the 11th were now Unohana's new patients, adding the number of injured that piled by the hour…

"Yamamoto" the captain-commander stiffened, he dreaded this moment ever since he took the role of the leader of the shinigami, only twice the king has talked to him, neither nice, this seemed to be one of those days, yet he had to wonder why the voice of the king sounded so female like.

Turning around, the captain-commander's eyes widened when he saw something that would mentally scar him for life, the king was no king, the king is in fact the queen, "Ah-uh-eh-ah…"

"You seemed tongue tied commander and obviously occupied, so I'll go straight to the point" the queen spoke, her voice firm and strong, along with her eyes that locked with the ones of the commander, "I saw what that Rayearth did to the imperial shield, I have also heard interesting rumors about the power of the Rayearth" she said, "And so far they have proven correct, tell me why a Rayearth knight would bother to attack Seireitei?" she asked.

"I…uh…I don't know, but I'm sure is an unprovoked attack" he lied; he knew why the damn Rayearth was in Seireitei, Rukia Kuchiki, the queen just stared at the commander dad in the eyes, "You lie" was all she said before a monstrous amount of reiatsu crashed over his head, bringing him over his knees, "You know why the Rayearth came, and more important you know that he will not leave until he has what he came from, and I know he will" the queen sneered, lifting her monstrous reiatsu over the commander's aged body.

Slowly she made her way towards him, she hated to act as some sort of cold bitch heartless dictator, but desperate times called for desperate measures, for her baby she will act like this, "Yamamoto" she said as she kneeled to his level, "I want you to capture the Ryoka, all of them keep them unharmed and out of the hands of that psycho you call captain of the 12th division, you heard me, I want the Rayearth captured and alive, I will come the day of Kuchiki Rukia execution, because I believe it will be day our esteemed Rayearth will come to rescue her and maul every single shinigami on his path, you have until that day to capture, if you fail to do so…well, you will wish that the Rayearth was in fact your opponent" she said simply as she vanished of the 1th division quarters, leaving a gasping Yamamoto on the floor, one that slowly stood up with an angry scowl on his aged features.

* * *

Komamura stared at the destruction path that somehow was related with Tousen, his esteemed friend and comrade seemed to have gotten overconfident, nothing else explains why his unconscious form lies on a rubble that he gathered by crashing over a warehouse after his body traveled in a destructive path from one end of Seireitei to the other end, basically on a straight line, this was proof enough that the Ryoka didn't only meant business, but had the power to back it up, or so he assumes, after all the Rayearth on the Ryoka ranks seems to be the only one with the power to actually defy a captain, the fact the third and fifth seat of the 11th division were on Unohana's care was proof enough of its power, the Rayearth fought them together, and they lost.

While they weren't so badly mauled as some people bet a shinigami would end after facing a Rayearth, some wounds were taking its time to heal, even under the care of the expert healer, that was testimony enough of the power of the Rayearths power if Unohana of all people was struggling to heal some of the wounds inflicted to his adversaries.

One thing was certain to the giant of a shinigami that stood over his groaning friend, the Rayearth didn't attacked his friend, how could he, he was in that moment, fighting another battle, and Tousen was no pushover, the Ryoka were not that strong to take on a captain head-on, or so he assumed, either the shinigami/hollow hybrid of a girl with them was stronger than they realized…

Or something else was with the Ryoka; something that not even the Ryoka knew had hitched a ride when they broke into Seireitei, something enough powerful to put a captain class shinigami out of combat and send him of one end of Seireitei to the other in one move.

The mere thought of something that powerful roaming inside Seireitei…unraveled him, it…scared him to a level, to a creature of such power, to roam freely, without restrain, without control, without the knowledge of the defenders, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Tousen was still trying to regain consciousness; obviously the blow was too much for him, especially since the hit was on the head, quite a vicious one he might add, the trail of destruction that followed Tousen was quite evident…

"**Your worries about the moron are quite disturbing" **Komamura turned fast, the source of a voice behind him, reaching for his Zanpakutou, he got ready to unsheathe his instrument of destruction, only to stop dead on his tracks, not by the sight of the orange clad boy with green slitted eyes and blond spiky hair, no, it was because so said boy now held Komamura's hand tightly, preventing him of unsheathing his Zanpakutou.

"**That helmet does not make you justice…let me help you" **the boy said, raising one hand, then snapping his fingers, the next thing Komamura knows is that the helmet that had concealed his vulpine features was shredded like nothing by an invisible force that felt like blades, hell he felt that some of his whiskers were cut.

"**Now that's better, why you hide your face when everyone knows what lies underneath that helmet? Oh I know, shame"**

"I am not ashamed" Komamura snarled at the whiskered blond who just smirked at him, a rouge smile that resembled more like a fox grinding, Komamura blinked once, only to see the kid vanish in an instant, **"For a death god…you're quite slow" **Komamura's blood ran cold when he heard the boy said that, perched on his massive right shoulder, like nothing.

"**Did they treat you bad when you were a kit?" **Komamura didn't knew why, but he nodded at the boy's question, **"An individual is smart, it thinks, it acts without rashness, but the masses are stupid, driven by fear, I bet your childhood was no fairytale, and only captains accepted you because they knew that you were different"**

"You know nothing" the fox man giant said calmly, but the boy wasn't tricked by that calm response, he could feel how Komamura was itching to attack him, to hurt him, like he could in any case, he could feel a literal storm on his heart, rage and sadness fueling the storm at the moment.

"**No…but my Rayearth does" **it was then when Komamura kneeled, not by free will, but because suddenly he felt the literal weight of the world thrown over his shoulder, the boy was gone of his shoulder, now standing in front of him, "Y-y-you're…A-a-a-anima"

"**That I am, although I wonder how the captain-commander will take the appearance of a guardian, especially the one of the Rayearth who defeated him soundly…in five minutes no less" **Komamura's shock after realizing that his friend was taken out by a guardian, and he has been speaking to one was furthered by the fact that the man who had taken him in, the man who showed him kindness and believed in him, the strongest shinigami in over 2000 years, was defeated in five minutes by a Rayearth, "It can't be"

"**Oh but it is, the battle would have been longer if it wasn't for the fact that my Rayearth was angry at the Sotaichou, he was lucky to come out of that battle alive, an angry woman, denied of her loved one is by far a lot worse than a scorned woman and an angry and determined mother" **Anima spoke.

"What…are…you…doing here?" Komamura gasped, the pressure remained constant, it was insane at is best, impossible to say the least, **"Just scouting"**

"Scouting?"

"**Yes, after all there is a Rayearth here, and his enemies are not to be taken lightly…yet again your commander would have problems dealing with the Kyuubi in any case"**

"The…nine tails…I thought…it was a…myth"

"**So the rayearths, and yet one is here…willing to burn this place to the ground for the sake of a friend, my current Rayearth would look up for that"**

"I will…not…allow it"

"**That's the problem, you are not meant to intervene, at least not yet"**

"What?" Komamura asked as he felt the pressure over him vanish.

"**Hear me well…Taichou…there is a traitor among your ranks, a captain who will betray you all for power, he will be accompanied by other two, and you will be wounded by the betrayal of one of them, not physically but spiritually, in the middle of all this Ichigo will be"**

"The name…of the Rayearth…is Ichigo" Komamura stated, as if trying to memorize the name, **"Yes…Ichigo Kurosaki" **Anima seemed to stress the importance of the last name, something Komamura noted, **"Ask Yamamoto about the last name…if he gets angry you will realize how important Ichigo is, not just because he is a Rayearth and the hope of Crystalia, but also for Soul Society, but to all this to happen you mustn't intervene, if you move ahead of time…things will get nasty"**

"Ahead…of time? What kind of madness you speak off!"

"**I SPEAK NO MADNESS VULPINO" **Anima's voice boomed, making Komamura to take a involuntary step back, **"Hear me well vulpino, this is my warning, interfere before time and you will die and unnecessary death, step only when is needed, you will know when is time to step in the battle" **with that the guardian turned his back to Komamura, power basically permeating the very air around him and leaving a visible trace along the way.

"…Wait" Komamura suddenly said, Anima stopped, but it didn't turn back to stare at Komamura, "Is…is that the appearance of the current Rayearth of wind?"

"**Yes, yes it is, you will like the kid, headstrong, brave, honest and loyal to a fault, like you, values friendship above all else…and knows what is to be judged for something he has no control" **with that Anima vanished with the wind, leaving a serious and thoughtful Komamura behind.

"**By the way" **Anima's voice suddenly sounded around him, **"Vulpino is the name of a crystalian fox/human hybrid race that lives on the woods of the forgotten, as big as you I dare say, I do wonder why a Vulpino's soul ended up in this corner of the afterlife universe"**

That was enough to leave Komamura's jaw hanging open, in shock for a whole minute.

"…That does explains a lot…and leaves too many more questions unanswered"

* * *

Uryuu examined the creature that had ambushed him and Orihime, the thing was dead by all intents and purposes, the head separated of the body, it seemed a more practical way to dispose of these dark cloaked beings that could challenge shinigami on combat with swords, but only in that, and perhaps resistance, the dammed thing's head spoke to them, it had basically told them that the Rayearth would die and all who stood with the knights would drown in the blood of countless worlds, all shed by the dark lord.

The very mention of the name dark lord seemed to send a chill to Uryuu's spine, Orihime had paled so much that her skin seemed to take the color of bones, it seemed she knew something because her eyes were wide, and not because a severed head of a freshly decapitated corpse had spoken to them, no it was something else.

Whatever the hell the thing was it seemed not even close to be a hollow, which explains why his arrows had little effect on non-lethal areas, if they crossed one of those things again Uryuu would have to shoot to kill, meaning blowing their head of their necks, he was not going to repeat the scene of a head separated of a body talking to him, never again.

"Inoune-san" Uryuu began, "You know what this thing speaks off right? This…dark lord whoever the hell he is" he said, Orihime however remained silent for a whole minute, staring at the headless body of the cloaked being, her eyes slowly narrowing.

"…Is an old legend that comes of Crystalia itself" she began, "My mom… she would tuck me to bed…and tell me the story" Orihime began, "No one knew why, but one day, in Crystalia, darkness befell the land of light" she began, her voice a quarter lower, "A man, if could be called like that, rose from a place called the Pit of the ill Omens, a forbidden land, even in Crystalia, he struck Crystalia hard, his armies ravaging the land that surrounded the pit before turning sights to the capital city of Crystalia, Terras" she continued.

"The war was short, barely half a year, but Crystalia was ravaged greatly, wounds decorated the land, some to never heal, some to leave never ending scars that time would not fade, the Rayearth of fire was the only survivor of the three rayearths that came to Crystalia, and that was because he was leading an army to repel a large army of the dark lord, the Rayearth of water sold his soul to the dark lord for power, and the dark lord possessed the knight, the Rayearth of wind died defending the queen of the possessed water Rayearth, and the queen had to kill the possessed knight, thus killing the dark lord, or some say" she added.

"Some say?"

"Yes Ishida-kun, mom told me that there is an obscure prophecy relating the dark lord, he would return, no one knew when, or how, but when he did, Crystalia would be first blinded to its acts, when covered in shadows, last the darkness would choke Crystalia as a whole, then spread all over the universe, no one to stop it" she said solemnly, making Uryuu to blink at her.

"And…you think the dark lord this thing mentioned might be related to the crystalian dark lord?" she nodded, "Then why the hell there are rayearths around if the dark lord would win in the end! Is illogical!" he all but shouted.

"I don't know Ishida-kun, maybe that's the interpretation of the darkness over that prophecy, the other side must have another one, one where the light triumphs over darkness, I don't know" she confessed with a heavy heart.

"…You believe it…the prophecy I mean" Uryuu stated as a matter of fact, "I don't know…until now that was just a childhood memory…until…"

"Until Kurosaki became the Rayearth of fire" Uryuu said simply, making Orihime nod, "I'm…I'm afraid of Kurosaki-kun…I'm afraid something will happen to him…to his family"

Uryuu obviously couldn't blame her for that thought, he didn't knew much about the Rayearth knights, just the fact that they were insanely strong, what a hundred shinigami could do to a hollow army, the Rayearth could do it one hundred times even better, and with an even explosive result.

That might perhaps explain why she went ballistic against the dark creatures, truth to be told he had never seen Orihime on a fight, and had only assumed that her strength lay on the defense and healing, obviously he had to think that again, considering that she basically slaughtered the dark creatures in a very bloody and gory way, not to mention the way she directed her attack to the shinigami Zanpakutou, breaking them.

"That's why you slaughtered those things…because you don't want Ichigo's family to suffer" he said to Orihime who nodded solemnly, "I don't know why Ishida-kun…but I think…something is going to happen to Kurosaki-kun family…and when he finds out…" she began, pale as a bone.

"Yes Inoune-san…Hell would look like a nice place to live if that happens"

* * *

"Sake?"

"I'm a minor"

"You are?"

Nanao rolled her eyes at that comment of the disgraced Shiba heir and her captain, not that she could blame either for what they said, for one her captain offered sake to everyone who entered his division barracks, it was a known fact that Unohana was the only captain who he didn't ask, why? Maybe because everyone is really afraid of finding out about the myth of Retsu Unohana becoming some sort of sexual succubus and a sadistic warrior when drunk was in fact true, all but myths she believes, the woman is nothing like that, but someone did say that the quiet ones are the ones to watch out for and while the matron like captain of the 4th division was not quiet to the extreme, she was silent…until the moment called upon her voice.

But to the matter at hand, is not that she can blame her captain and the Shiba heir for not believing this man, Sado…or Chad or whatever the hell the name he goes to telling them that his in fact a minor, to anyone he looks like a full out grown up, hell he even has a tattoo, while to a spirit of Soul Society Chad would qualify to the 'baby' age due to the longevity of many souls, in his world he was in fact a teenager, with the same restrictions that any other teenager.

"My, you living do grow up fast, I mean look at me, 100 years in the past and I didn't had this beard, or this lovely lieutenant"

"Captain" she warned, suddenly holding her book on her two hands rather than smothering the poor thing to her chest, "But Nanao-chaaann" Shunsui moaned.

"Don't start" she warned, looking then at the two Ryoka…on her captain quarters…on the division barracks, Kami why she agreed with this…oh yes, because there is a freaking traitor on their ranks, and the Ryoka seemed to be the only way to unmask this traitor.

"Okay" Shunsui relented…for the moment, he knew one day Nanao would quake over and then…BAMM!

"_Pity she isn't like Lisa-chan, now that girl and I did get along…and didn't hit my much with that damn book!" _he thought, Lisa had been a constant on his career as a captain, she and he shared many similarities, and while she seemed stern on the outside, she was quite a softy on the inside, especially with romantic/erotic books, the fact she openly displayed her love for the romantic/erotic books was a plus to him…then that damn business with the hollow powers hit and Lisa and other seven shinigami, along with Urahara, Tessai and Yoruichi had to flee, Nanao had been devastated that day, Lisa and Nanao shared a close bond, when Lisa was forced to flee…Nanao changed, simple as that.

"Now to the matters at hand" Shunsui overall demeanor changed in an instant, from the layback shinigami to a hardened man, something Nanao noticed, and scared her, seeing that shift of personalities always spooked her, and why not, as far as she knew him it has always been lazy, easy-going…lazy, a drinker, living an easy and lay low life, seeing him change like that…it was not natural.

"I know you were with our esteemed Rayearth of fire" Shunsui began, "And don't act surprised or something like that, the Sotaichou basically screamed to the four winds that a Rayearth was on Soul Society and wants his head, on a silver plate with preference" Shunsui said, "Now I don't know why he hates them so much, must be something that happened long before I became captain"

"Fira told us" Chad spoke suddenly, making Shunsui raise an eyebrow, "Apparently 300 ago, the former Rayearth of wind tried to turn the hollow of her beloved on a plus, so she could visit him in her sleep due to her special ability, your…captain-commander and a person named Unohana intervened, causing the soul to be lost forever, this caused the Rayearth of wind ire…from what Fira told us she mauled the man and aimed to kill him until this Unohana stood in the way and took the hit for him" Chad announced.

"That does explain the scar on her back" Nanao spoke, "It does…and also the hate of old man yama for the knights, hell I have never seen him so angry in my life, and I'm pretty much old myself" Shunsui said with a chuckle.

"And what is to us?" Ganju asked shortly, followed by a pointed glare of Chad, "What is to you two is the fact that your friend…Ichigo right?" Chad nodded at Shunsui question, "Is in fact a target, a very big one for what he did, attacking Seireitei is an offense let me tell ya, even more personal if you're a 2000 years old commander who has seen the place grown and never been breached, the fact that Ichigo-san is in fact a Rayearth sweetens the deal…I'm afraid that old man yama won't settle with just killing your friend if he catches him" Shunsui said, in that moment the two shinigami felt the all familiar presence of hollow reiatsu…coming out of Chad.

"He will go for Ichigo's family!" Chad suddenly boomed, standing up to his full height and getting ready to bolt out of the room, "If you leave then Yamamoto will get you, then he will use you to get to Ichigo, either way it ends bad to you" Shunsui stated simply, yet with a blunt way that left Chad standing immobile.

"…Ichigo is the son of a shinigami, Chad" Shunsui said, making Chad's shock to further, "I met that shinigami before, hell I drank with him several times, he was on a relationship with Unohana-sempai, he was well liked among many shinigami, then one day he vanishes, just like that" Shunsui began, "The how and why of this was obscure, it was said that he was killed in a fight with Menos Grandes, but very little believed that story, it was not until Unohana-sempai returned of a mission to the world of the living, wounded, she called us and told us that Isshin was pretty much alive, once married, with three children that could feel spiritual energies, two of them able to see spiritual beings such a pluses, hollows and shinigami, one of them is a shinigami due to another shinigami sharing her powers and awakening at the same time his latent powers, also that same son is a Rayearth knight, which I might add is something that happens only once every 200 years to 500 years, sometimes separated by a millennium, something is up, a Rayearth showing up in the apparent face of a peaceful era" Shunsui said as he walked to Chad.

"Every Rayearth, without exception, if the stories about them are accurate, appear only in times of war, only in times of war, when the so called 'darkness' shrouds Crystalia, those events relates closely with events on the native worlds of the Rayearth knights, if this is right, and I compare it with what is happening currently, Unohana-sempai assumption of a traitor might not be so crazy after all, especially considering the extenuating facts around the capture and sentence of Rukia Kuchiki" Shunsui stated simply but bluntly.

Chad just balled his fists, hard, his knuckles becoming white by the pressure applied, he was tempted to unleash his armored arm, but Shunsui had a point in his statement, in all of it, including Ichigo's current status as Rayearth knight.

And it scared him.

* * *

Hanatarou was at a lost in what to do to help Ichigo, truth to be told he seemed well on his own; Ichigo's zanpakutou was simply the most astonishing thing he had ever seen, he had never seen a zanpakutou that had remained on its released state for so long, simply as that, no zanpakutou simply put had the shape of a cleaver, he had seen shinigami that are bigger than the feared Zaraki Kenpachi, with zanpakutou matching their height in their sealed forms, but he had never seen a zanpakutou remain on its sealed form after battle, a shinigami fuel was reiatsu, using and keeping a zanpakutou on its released form required reiatsu, to keep a zanpakutou on its released form would cause a shinigami to collapse due to exhaustion of energy, something that was commonly treated on the 4th division.

But Ichigo…Ichigo was a total mystery, he dared believe, he was one of the few humans that had survived a transfer of powers, and even more disturbing was the fact that he was already spiritually strong, even with the almost ever present reiatsu that now drowned any shinigami ability to feel reiatsu, he could feel Ichigo's just because he was close enough, and truth to be told, he was frightened by that, he could feel his reiatsu pouring out of Ichigo, like a waterfall, never stopping, never ending, drowning all his senses, overwhelming him in just sheer presence, and the fact he wore a scowl on his face as he healed his most 'serious' wounds, he uses the 'serious' word loosely because simply said most of his wounds had healed alone and the grave ones were on the way of healing.

"Uh…Kurosaki-san" Hanatarou began, making Ichigo stare at him, "Eh…uh…why are you here?" Hanatarou asked, while he knew that Ichigo was attacking Seireitei because of Rukia, she was the reason, a motivation…but why? What had she done to him to cause such extreme actions of him? What had happened in the time she had spent in the world of the living? What was her relation with the orange haired boy?

Ichigo by his part stared at Hanatarou with a critical gaze, while Unohana seemed honest enough in her offer to help him, he was wary of any shinigami, after all he was attacking his home, and while Unohana wanted to help him, nothing assured him that Hanatarou would, for all he knew the boy was waiting a chance to attack him.

Yet he seemed honest enough, people always say the eyes are the windows of the soul, and he has always been able to judge people by just looking them in the eyes, Orihime for example, honest, a little of a air-head, but with a good heart and with the eyes set on the goal, a good friend that will always come through in the end, Chad is almost the same thing, without the air-head thing, he is smart, there is a list of notes stuck on the wall near their classroom that proves such thing.

As he stared at Hanatarou eyes, he saw something he always saw in his friends eyes, trust, trust and loyalty, but while his friends were loyal to each other, Hanatarou was loyal to Unohana, way too loyal, but he seemed to trust him, why? Maybe it was because of Rukia…maybe he knew her, he wanted to help her as much as he wanted, but obviously one lone shinigami wasn't enough against an army.

With a deep sigh, Ichigo told Hanatarou the same thing he told others whenever they asked him about Rukia and her importance in his life.

"Because she changed my life"

* * *

"Gin…I heard some interesting rumors about your fight against the Rayearth…are they true?" Aizen Sosuke is not a man who puts much attention to gossip, hell he frowns at it, while a very destructive weapon to those who rely on status, Aizen simply can't stand it, is a vulgar way to subdue adversaries, psychological warfare at its finest…used by hormone driven boys and girls to ascend the food chain, childish, but brutally effective.

Gin by his part smiled that creepy smile of his, but he didn't fooled him at all, Aizen knew Gin since he had killed the 3rd seat of the 5th division one year after his graduation from the academy, hell Gin had aided him with the hollowfication of several high ranked shinigami, several experiments, the list went on and on, once the child prodigy of Seireitei, Gin was a fearsome adversary to anyone unprepared.

So it came as a surprise when he heard the news that while he was able to push the Rayearth out of Seireitei with his Shinsou, the Rayearth Ryoka had the last laugh when golden flames burned all the clothes of Gin, right in front of the still conscious shinigami and Unohana.

Aizen knew that Gin had a bone to pick with the Rayearth, he was basically humiliated in front of many people, gossip was spreading fast, and he got a fan-club in record time to add, if it wasn't for the fact they were being invaded and he had a plan to set in motion in its totality, Gin would be most surely in his office, with the door locked, and getting ready to unleash his Bankai on whoever fool enough to mention the 'mole in the cheek incident' while getting ready to make his last stand against his hungry fan-club.

"Why yes it is" Gin said, forcing his fox like grin to Aizen, but Aizen wasn't fooled by that smile, 100 years of partnership with Gin has taught him that Gin has a smile for every occasion, this one pretty much said 'no shit genius' and 'say it and I swear, mastermind or not, I'll bifurcate your balls'

"I see…so the stories about their powers are not sugarcoated" Aizen replied, "You knew?" Gin wondered, "All stories are based on real facts, the tales of the Rayearth knights are not different, besides is not so hard to believe that Crystalia actually exists, after all we are to human standards, beings of imagination, death given form, living on a parallel plane of existence, the thought of a core world as old as the universe itself is not so farfetched after all" Aizen replied simply, he had an open mind, that was for certain, he needed to have one to aim for higher goals.

"So…what's the plan?" Gin asked, he asked the obvious question for one important reason, a wannabe shinigami storming Seireitei with abnormal amounts of reiatsu they could handle, hell it was foreseen, how Aizen foresaw that he better never know, but a wannabe shinigami with abnormal reiatsu levels and also a Rayearth knight? That was a whole different affair, if much the whole plan needed to be redone from scratch, something Gin hated doing, but Aizen, he was a whole different thing altogether, he adored remaking plans from scratch.

"The plan will continue as such Gin" Aizen declared, making Gin 'blink' or the equivalent of blink in his case, "Are you sure Aizen, we are talking about a Rayearth here, he is no pushover, you said yourself that their power is not sugarcoated, I hate to say this, I truly do, believe me I want to throw up, but I think we should rethink at least who that boy is going to meet along the way" Gin insisted.

"No…it will continue at such" Aizen replied, "Why?" Gin began, "You know that Renji will have zero chances against that Rayearth, he'll dispatch him in five minutes" Gin said, "Doubtful" Aizen said, slightly confusing Gin, "Why is that?"

For once in his lifetime, Gin's eternal fox like smile dropped when he saw Aizen's own smile, he was perhaps the only person who could comprehend Aizen's mood by a simple glance, and right now Aizen mood was simply…sadistic.

"Because Gin, Renji has a bone to pick with Ichigo, and when a girl is involved things get a little messy…I have always enjoyed a good drama…humans call it soap opera, pity we don't have that" he stated simply as he began to walk away, the sun was slowly going down, signaling the end of the day, a very hectic day some dare say.

"…You told him where the Rayearth is right?" Gin asked to Aizen, his only answer was a smile, a smile Gin saw as 'If you know, why you ask?'

* * *

Ichigo followed Hanataraou through the maze of tunnels that was the sewers of Seireitei, he had to hand it to the boy, he knew the place like the back of his hand, he has been adding burn marks on several walls along the way, to make sure to recall the way or to see if he had already passed that corridor already.

So far he hasn't crossed a single burn mark, which was good, Fira was still perched on his shoulder, but he could clearly see the discomfort on her avian face, considering that the sewers are damp places, and since she is the guardian of fire and fire and water negate each other…

"**By the pillars and the forest of Agaman, this place reeks!" **Fira exclaimed, or maybe it was because the horrible stench of the sewers offended her nose, and also his, she was right, the place reeked to all kinds of horrible stenches, he was half-afraid of even leaving the burning marks, fearing maybe that the saturation of gases in the sewers combined with his fire powers might end up igniting the place and sending Seireitei and him sky high.

"We are close" Hanatarou said softly, Ichigo had to strain his ears so he could hear the boy speak, while the kid seemed meek, he had delivered so far.

"Once we leave the sewers…we will only have to pass an open courtyard and a collection of buildings to reach the white tower near the sanctuary of penitence, not many shinigami frequent this road due to the fact they must memorize the paths to reach the tower, from both the sewer and the buildings maze, this is the safest and shortest road to reach it" Hanatarou said.

"Are we in risk of crossing a patrol?" Ichigo asked, he wasn't worried about the patrols, but of the fact that maybe a shinigami might recognize Hanatarou and link him to Unohana, while he still didn't trust her much it was obvious she was putting her neck on the line to help him, and if what he heard about the captain-commander was true, he didn't tolerated traitors very well.

"I…doubt it" Hanatarou hesitated in his answer, obviously he was thinking something among the same lines as him about his involvement, "That path is rarely frequented, the only risk is the courtyard since is an open field, anyone there could see someone crossing the courtyard, but only if is expected to someone to cross it" Hanatarou confessed, making Ichigo frown.

"Then let's expect the worse" Ichigo said simply, so far it was the honest true, unless someone knew why he was here, then there would be people covering all the entrances and paths to the tower, including the obscure ones Hanatarou and any 4th division shinigami knew.

As the silence stretched, so did the space between Ichigo and the exit, finally, after three minutes of walking, both Hanatarou and Ichigo exited the sewers via a manhole hidden behind a building, there Ichigo noted that the sun was going down, the day was almost at its end, the shinigami would be far more active at night, knowing that the shadows might shelter him and the others, he idly wondered how the others were doing, he was worried yes, but they could take care of each other, he was certain of that, not for nothing they came with him.

"Please follow me Kurosaki-san" Hanatarou called, making Ichigo sigh, it seemed that all the 4th shinigami were too polite, hell he could imagine them asking politely to a hollow if they could purify it.

As he rounded the building, following Hanatarou steps, he stopped suddenly when he saw someone on the other side of the courtyard, Hanatarou wasn't kidding when he told him the courtyard was an open space, a stone floor flanked by two structures, a wall that separated the sector he had landed along with a small house where Ichigo and Hanatarou had emerged out of the manhole, the other side was more like a fortress, huge walls surrounded what seemed a formation of grey buildings that stood out of the walls, but what stood out of the most was the white tower in the middle, higher than the buildings, near it was a mountain that was connected to the tower, the only visible way to enter the fortress was obviously a set of narrow stairs in the middle.

But the building in front of them wasn't the reason he stopped along with Hanatarou.

"Renji" Ichigo said with a hiss, looking at the shinigami who had helped Byakuya take Rukia, slowly descending the stairs, looking sternly at Ichigo.

"Abarai-fukutaichou" Hanatarou gasped, taking a step back, and all was going so smoothly, this had to happen, crossing a fukutaichou, a shinigami that was close to a captain's strength was bad enough, but being found aiding a Ryoka, such Ryoka having a very big bounty on his head alone was beyond bad, Rukia execution would look like an act of mercy compared to his.

"**Fukutaichou? My, the standards are very low these days, they basically accept anyone in those ranks" **Fira said out loud, making Hanatarou stare at the avian guardian in shock, **"I wonder you are not on a higher seat, like third of fourth?"**

"I'm aiming for the sixth seat…that's beside the point! You insulted a lieutenant!" Hanatarou snapped to the fire guardian, "They are powerful…" any squawking of Hanatarou died when Fira flew of Ichigo's shoulder to his, landing neatly on it and actually slapped the back of his head with her wings, **"Oh shush ye of little fate, and watch" **she began, seeing how Ichigo was already advancing at Renji, that one doing the same, **"You're about to learn why the Rayearth knights are the strongest on the universe, Ichigito will dispatch that guy in less that you can imagine"**

Hanatarou didn't knew if to believe her, but of what he had heard of his own captain, and seeing the wound she had got 300 years ago in the hands of Rayearth before Ichigo, he was fairly certain he could take care of himself, but the thing was that the Rayearth that had wounded and defeated his captain had mastered all her powers and was enraged, Ichigo had neither, he could only hope for the best.

"So you came" Hanatarou heard Renji hiss, "And if I did? What it's to you?" Ichigo said while advancing, Renji didn't answered, just kept advancing, "You got some balls to come here and say that to me after all you have done" Renji snarled, his hand reaching for his zanpakutou, Ichigo did the same with Zangetsu, the wraps of the blade undoing when Ichigo's hand touched the hilt of it.

Ichigo simply narrowed his eyes at that statement, he was the one to talk, Rukia obviously knew him, and what he did, almost behead her, if the cut on her cheek was of any indication, hell the guy chose his duty over his friend, and that is not right on Ichigo's book, friends and family above all else he believes, so high that if one is in danger then risking one's life to save them is fair, and the fact Rukia's brother had chose duty over family was bad enough, the guy was getting it, bad.

With that thought in mind, and imagining that Fira knew what was he thinking about, and approving it, he summoned Ignus, much to the shock of Renji, "You better release your zanpakutou Renji, I already defeated two lieutenants who believed they could take me on without going all out, they are now on the hospital" he said as he advanced, Renji sneered more, remembering Kira and Hisagi state after the first attempt of Ichigo to break in, Kira's zanpakutou had been cut in two, while Hisagi's was damaged badly, and those were the released ones, the un-released zanpakutous were damaged and the 12th division had a rough time to repair each one, if rumors were true.

Hell, that information had all the lieutenants on the edge to be said lightly, all, including Matsumoto, while her zanpakutou on her released form didn't had a solid form (or so he heard about) her weapon was still vulnerable to the multicolored fires Ichigo seemed to breath out, all zanpakutous, with the notable exceptions of the captains zanpakutous were more than enough to hold the cutting power of the red blade, if that was true, then it meant that more power in the zanpakutou meant more resistance to it.

He didn't knew if it was some sort of trap of part of Ichigo (he failed to remember however that Ichigo was not the kind of man that made complicated battle plans) and settled with one logic conclusion, he was luring him to release Zabimaru so he could destroy it with his red blade, but so far he hadn't see Ichigo summoning that red blade…

That train of thought changed as fast as it came when he saw that red blade take its place on Ichigo's left hand in a shower of sparks and fire, he had to admit it, the thing had a good entrance, then it hit him, rather hard to say, Ichigo was a Rayearth, damn he had blown a hole on him when he was just meters of death step, he had defeated his captain also that same day, but while both had limiters on, that didn't meant that helped as an excuse, Byakuya was angry, his pride was, for the lack of better words tarnished, and until he tarnished his blade with Ichigo's blood he would not be satisfied nor happy.

And truth to be told, he would neither, the guy ruined everything, all was down the drain, Rukia had the perfect life, all he ever wanted for her…and then Ichigo came and had to ruin it everything with his foolish human ways, now he understood why shinigami never interfere in the affairs of humans, just being in the human world to kill hollows, sending pluses to the real afterlife and of course earning money for the bounties of several hollows, oh and who can forget keeping the balance between the living and the dead.

Back in the world of the living he had a limiter, yet Ichigo was able to let a single wound on him before he went 'zombie' on him and blasted a hole on his shoulder, that was before, he was a weak boy with a oversized zanpakutou with zero spiritual energy infused to the blade, easy to break, he had a limiter on, time passed, Ichigo returned, his powers back, a new zanpakutou, new powers, he had raised hell on one of the entrances of Seireitei, two lieutenants now lay on the 4th division thanks to Ichigo, and while the energy that had saturated Seireitei ever since the imperial barrier was vanishing, allowing some ability to feel reiatsu, it was still minimal, but allowed some safety, yet there was still shinigami, unranked and unseated ones that formed the bulk of the shinigami force, still in the 4th division barracks, unconscious, wounded, diminishing their numbers greatly, allowing the Ryoka to walk around freely, unopposed, those who opposed were now on the hospital…

Rukia was about to face execution… all that happened, all that was Ichigo's fault, his fault, only his!

In rage he complied with Ichigo's wishes, he wanted to fight all out, and then he got his wish.

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

Once again Ichigo saw the transformation of an ordinary katana to something else, Renji's blade was unique, like a whip with dented ends, a sword shaped whip with dented ends, he still remember how that thing had basically saw his shoulder on their last confrontation, and it angered him, Unohana had told him on their fight that all captain and lieutenant shinigami that ventured to the human world had to wear a limiter, so their powers would not affect humans, like his did, it angered him knowing that Renji was weakened by that limiter, and yet defeated him, that Byakuya was weakened by that limiter and had cut him down, that he was unable to do nothing against two weakened opponents to save Rukia.

That anger fueled his determination to set things right, to save Rukia and no one would stop him, no one, not even the King of Soul Society.

They kept advancing to one another, like a pair of lions ready to fight for domain, ready to tear each other apart…

Suddenly Renji blurred of Ichigo's sight, much to the shock of Hanatarou, "He's too fast…"

"**He's too slow" **was Fira own reply, suddenly Ichigo rose Zangetsu, a shower of sparks indicated that the ever released form of Ichigo's blade had met Renji's Zabimaru, Ichigo didn't even looked at Renji who sported a shocked look, "The fact you wound me with a limiter on means you will do it again…this time I will cut you down!"

Renji jumped away and retracted Zabimaru when a geyser of lava erupted where the blade once was, the hot melted rock that was only seen by Shinigami working with new deceased near volcanoes, so seeing it emerge in Seireitei of all places only proven to Renji that Ichigo was in fact the Rayearth of fire, and was meaning business, he was here for Rukia, and would burn Seireitei itself if this was in his way.

"H-how…he did shunpo" Hanatarou said, **"Tsk, flash step…un-aptly named, only one person has fully mastered it and exploited its full potential, yet the speed reached in it barely qualifies, dark elves can track the movements of a shunpo user easily, barely comparable with the speed created by the Flying Thunder God, only one human has been able to travel at the speed of light"**

"I told you, go all out or you die!" Ichigo snapped, the ten days that he has used to train with Fira and Urahara had taught him something, fear in the field was useless, fear was a hindrance, Urahara had taught him how to unleash his reiatsu to intimidate, just like many shinigami does, while Fira had taught him something else.

"_**Fight with all you got, holding on is for little whinny and pampered boys and girls, when you fight you put it all on the line, your pride, your life, all that and more, if your opponent holds its power…FORCE HIM TO FIGHT ALL-OUT!"**_

Knowing that Renji seemed to be proud of his own power, and seemed to be volatile, like himself, he decided to exploit it, it was not of him to do this, but what the hell, screw it.

"I thought I told you to attack me with all you got" Ichigo began, "That last attack…I barely felt it" Renji sneered at that, "And here I thought you would be a challenge because you are a lieutenant and had your limiter off…perhaps I should let Hanatarou fight you, considering how weak you are he would be a more worthy adversary for someone of your level"

That was it for Renji, rage flooded his mind, the nerve of the Ryoka of comparing his strength with the one of a minor 4th division grunt, reiatsu flooded his system and flooded also the area around him, and ungodly amount of pressure fell over the courtyard, making Hanatarou gasp for just a second before a warm feeling felt over him, and the feeling of oppression vanished, looking up he saw Fira looking at him, **"Consider it a favor little one, while I'm around you get to see a battle without the worry of getting crushed by their reiatsu"**

Hanatarou noticed that Ichigo was unaffected by the pressure he felt earlier, in fact he looked well, the only difference on him was that his hair was flattened, nothing else.

"**This is going to be good" **Fira exclaimed as she saw Renji tighten his grip on Zabimaru, a look of murder etched on his face, "You're going down!" he screamed as he rushed at Ichigo, the tip of Zabimaru leaving a gash on the ground as he ran at the Ryoka, with a roar he jumped at Ichigo, swinging Zabimaru hard on the Rayearth.

The impact caused the floor to crack over Zabimaru, dust rising all over along with debris of the ground, out of the dust Ichigo slid out, both blades firmly held on his hand, "You won't win Renji, and you know why?" Ichigo said as he followed Renji's movement, he raising Zabimaru again for a sweeping strike, Ichigo just rose Zangetsu to block the incoming strike.

**BAMM!**

Sparks flew as the two released blades collided, Zabimaru grinding against the steel of Zangetsu, yet Ichigo didn't backed down after that attack, most shinigami would, but Ichigo was stronger than the average captain class shinigami, in physical terms of course, he can punch a hole on a wall without the use of reiatsu, something shinigami can do with the aid of reiatsu.

With a grunt Ichigo pushed Zabimaru away, Zangetsu's blade gleaming with an ominous blue energy, Renji was focused on Zangetsu that he never noticed Ignis being the same…

"Vesica Abyssus!" Renji had just a split second to dodge when he saw Ignus completely engulfed in red flames, his surprise got worse when the flaming blade extended and burned a neat line on his chest, cauterizing his wound instantly and burning his clothes along the way, Renji hissed a number of curses that were fitting for his mood at the moment, with a snarl he rose his free hand, gathering energy on the palm of his hand, this spell usually ended up blowing on him, but now he was really focused…focused on blowing Ichigo to hell, but focused nonetheless.

"Sankaho!"

"Telum Incendia!"

**BOOM!**

Both magic attacks impacted, causing a massive explosion that consumed the center where they met, leaving a melted crater in the middle of the room, yet once the smoke dissipated, Renji noticed with alarm than Ichigo was gone.

A shadow loomed over him, looking up he saw Ichigo, both blades poised to strike him, Renji growled as he swung Zabimaru at Ichigo, he grinded when Zabimaru impacted on Ichigo, cutting the chest of Ichigo as he fell, but then panicked when he saw that Ichigo was not going to slow down, in fact he was still aiming at him despite the wound on his chest.

"Oh sunova" he swore as he rolled away, avoiding both blades that impacted on the ground the explosion and debris that followed made Renji rethink about letting Ichigo get any advantage in air, this guy was seriously trying to kill him, that or maim him to a bloody pull.

Ichigo just stood up after that attack of Renji, in fact the nasty gash he had on his chest didn't hurt at all, Fira was right, the Rayearth of fire was in a way, immune to pain, no wonder they fight to the death and sometimes missing limbs.

Soon Ichigo saw Renji rush at him, Ichigo just rose Ignis and blocked the incoming sweep of Zabimaru, the grinding metal of the zanpakutou emitting a high pitched sound to Ichigo, but to Renji it was another sound altogether.

His zanpakutou screamed, downright screamed after grinding itself against the red blade, in pain, not rage or something like that, pain, his zanpakutou screamed in pain.

Renji was about to attack again when his chest erupted in blood, pain spiked on his skull like a hammer slamming on his soft brain, his eyes caught the gleam of Ichigo's zanpakutou, the blade sporting blood, his blood, taking some steps back, Renji assessed the situation, Ichigo obviously outclassed him when it came to power and receive damage, in time he would outclass him, he would defeat him…

"_Stop thinking like that Renji, if you defeat him and present him to the sotaichou then I can plead him to release Rukia…I can save her if I can defeat him…but he is so strong…"_

Renji began to hesitate, the grip of his zanpakutou growing either stronger or weaker, he was nervous because he was facing a really strong opponent, he was angry because his current opponent was the reason his friend was in jail and about to face execution, he of course held no illusions of being able to defeat this opponent alone, even if Sosuke-taichou had confined him with the location of the Rayearth Ryoka, he was just there fighting him and buying time, maybe if the Ryoka had been just a human with shinigami powers perhaps he would have defied him alone, but this was the guy who stormed Seireitei with a shinigami/hollow hybrid and had caused generalized destruction, just in the front gate, this was the guy who brought down the imperial shield easily, this was the guy who so far has been unopposed and undefeated, he could not take any risks, even with Rukia's fate on the line.

Yet…he had his own doubts, doubts of even he being able to stop this force of nature, he wanted to run, yet he needed to fight…but it was for Rukia, or for duty?

"_Rukia is my friend…no…shinigami have no friends…but she is…yet I helped in her capture…I'm no friend…why I worry? Shinigami have no feelings, that's why we act so unconcerned when we see a human die and send their souls back to Rukongai, that's why we don't care if we kill a hollow that was once a kid…I'm a shinigami, is my duty to follow orders and keep balance…but…but…but…"_

His inner conflict was all 'IT' waited, inside Renji every since he became a shinigami, a being that just waited, bided its time, a creature that was patient, and that patience had paid off at last.

* * *

Momo kept running to the so called location Renji had given her and any other lieutenant that was still conscious and not occupied with something, the only lieutenants that didn't went with them were Yachiru since she basically sticks to her captain Kenpachi like a magnet, and Nanao who was occupied, apparently her captain had her actually working during this time, instead of bringing him sake.

None of them knew that Nanao was staying because her captain, in his infinite wisdom had taken to stray ryokas as pets, lucky her.

The very few lieutenants that remained with the ability fight were being lead by none other than the child prodigy of Seireitei, Toshiro Hitsugaya, who sported twin red handprints on his cheeks, reason.

"_Hey, I didn't knew you had boobs Momo-chan"_

"_PERVERT!"_

He might be a boy prodigy when it comes to battles, but when it comes to girls he plainly sucks.

As they approached the alleged battlefield, the feeling of bloodlust filled their senses, freezing them completely, even the emotionless Nemu froze upon the feeling, it was primal, they could taste it, touch it, hear it, it was snaring their senses, freezing their nerves, and chilling their very cores.

Hitsugaya and Momo meanwhile looked shocked, then determined, whatever it was, it was certainly it was not the Rayearth Ryoka, that was for certain, it didn't take a genius to realize that he was storming (and destroying) Seireitei along the way because he was aiming to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, even if he had to topple the sky over Seireitei to do so.

As they approached, and the other paralyzed shinigami followed them, they wondered what kind of thing could leak such bloodlust and evil, not even hollows could do that, and that was simply because the hollows were creatures of instinct, they fed and kill, nothing else, nothing more, like many creatures in the world of the living, a lion isn't evil because he kills a man, the lion sees the man as food, and kills it to feed himself.

But what they found once they reached the massive courtyard was surely something that would be stuck with them for all life.

On one side there was a shinigami, surely of the 4th division due to the pouch he had on his back, his face was covered however because a red bird was perched over his shoulder, effectively cutting the line of sight of everyone trying to get a look at the face of the unknown 4th division shinigami.

Then it was the Rayearth Ryoka, Ichigo if they heard correct of their superiors, he fitted to the description given almost criminally, down to every last detail he matched, including the blades and the ever present scowl on his face, the orange hair and the attire that was identical to a shinigami uniform, they couldn't glance the so called glove where he stored the red blade because they were seeing him from his right side.

Then they noticed Renji…on the ground, Zabimaru casted away, he rolled on a ball, seemingly in pain…

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWW!"

A scream of pain and anger was released of his mouth as he lunched forward, his back exposed and pulsing, like if something was growing inside him, and it grew more and more and more…

Suddenly an a arm shot out of Renji's back, tar like substance covering it, then another, soon anyone staring realized that the tar like substance wasn't tar at all, it was blood, and it wasn't Renji's.

The arms forced the thing attached to them out, a body, covered in the black blood, emerging of Renji's back, as soon the body left Renji completely, they shinigami collapsed, unconscious, nearly dead by the trauma forced to him, but the attention of the present was focused on the thing that had emerged out of Renji.

The thing was human shaped in layman terms, there all was normal, but the rest was different, the legs first, all bony like, there was no skin over it, instead there was a coat of severely rotten and slim muscles that barely gave the thin bones a bulk, around them lay several pulsating veins that seems to transport the black blood that sometimes oozed out of the veins like water in a waterfall, that pattern was followed until reaching the stomach, there nothing lay, just the very darkened spine attached to the muscle coated pelvis, the torso seemed to be composed only of a sickly like body armor, nothing else, there was no way to see if he had internal organ, or a heart to say, the arms were oddly a mesh between mechanical and organic, skin melded with metal, making the mockery of muscles, and the head, the face was completely devoid of flesh and muscle, while the rest was a mesh of rotten muscles and bulging veins, the eye sockets were filled with what seemed eyes, if eyes were meant to float without any muscle tissue tied around them, glow a blood red and have spikes around them.

The creature just looked at Ichigo, and somehow was able to form a sneer with its bony face; an incredible achievement without muscles or skin attached to it, and then hissed something loud enough to all to hear.

_**Revenant…**_

And with that the creature leaped away with great ease, glancing at Ichigo one last time before leaving the courtyard, leaving in its wake a stunned group, "That…was the sickest thing I have ever seen" Ichigo muttered, staring at the downed Renji, then his gaze traveled on the stunned and gathered shinigami, seeing that they had arrived to ambush him, surely hoping that Renji would stall him.

"Kuso" Ichigo curse seemed to snap the shinigami of what happened, when they attempted to advance, just to stop when Ichigo made a stomp motion with his feet, and a wall of lava erupted from the ground, blocking their path, of all but one.

When Ichigo turned around, he had to duck when a sword nearly cut his head off, reacting out of sheer instinct alone and training in martial arts, Ichigo dropped both swords to the ground, his hand grabbed the arm of the attacker, and he flipped the guy or girl on his shoulder, slamming his body to the ground with an incredible display of power.

On the other side of the wall, the other shinigami waited until the wall was gone, when it was gone indeed, the found themselves staring at the shocked Toshiro Hitsugaya, his body basically imprinted on the ground at least three meters deep, a shocked look on his face, no trace of Ichigo whatsoever.

"That guy is insanely strong" was all Hitsugaya moaned as he tried to rip himself of the hole Ichigo put him on, the understatement of the century of course.

The day was over, night came, and with it came many more mysteries to unravel, and a certain captain to pull out of the ground.

* * *

_there you go people, another chapter done and gone, i admit this chapter was a little...lacking in the beatdown department, blame writters block, current manga advances and how to fit all that in the future, is not easy, I found last week that Naruto's mother was a demon jailer, i mean damn! i didn't saw that coming, and Aizen becoming that? crap now he looks like a fearsome foe, and ichigo being all afraid and all that, man the manga complicates a lot of things, trust me, on a higher note that information so far that has risen my creativity juices high enough, but for the moment i leave you all with the next chapter preview, enjoy._

_**Advancing into the unknown...**_

**"**I Can't believe that thing came of him? interesting, i wonder if he will yield more results once i disect him"

_**The eternal question of every person that walks onto the darkness that is ignorance...**_

"That thing...is nothing like you have dexcrived so far Fira"

_**And ignorance as suc, without realizing of it first, can be quite dangerous...**_

**"That's why because that is not a creature of the dark lord i have ever met"**

_**In the next chapter of Rayearth knights: Ichigo the Inferno...the test...**_

"I see you have come...my succesor"

**_and so it begins the past of the torch..._**

* * *

_don't you dare to miss the next chapter, until anext time, i Hypn0s singns off, peace!_


	9. 8: The test

_hello readers, Hypn0s is back once again with yet another chapter of ichigo the inferno, this story has developed nicely so far, i have changed some things and added a lot more, many people will notice this of course, i added things people will either like or dislike, well you can't please them all anyway, now enough jabbery, let's get the show on the road people._

* * *

**CHAPTER 8: THE TEST**

"Gaahhh!" Ichigo gasped as Hanatarou stitched the cut on his chest, the wound was nasty, but Hanatarou lived to the name of the 4th division and their ability to pull miracles out of their asses, but he discovered something along the way about himself, or better said about his Rayearth side.

"Dear Kami this stings!"

While the Rayearth of fire was impervious to pain made by wounds, he was a crybaby when it came to being healed by a medic.

"P-please enough Ichigo-san" Hanatarou softly said, "You'll open your wound" he stated, "Hanatarou…I heal fast, this wound will be closed, healed and no one will ever realize there was a wound there in two hours" Ichigo stated, "M-maybe…b-but it never hurts to be careful" Hanatarou replied, "E-especially with that…thing on the loose" he added.

"Yeah, what the hell was that anyway, it doesn't match any kind of the creatures you ever told me in our training Fira" Ichigo said.

"**That's because that is not one of the dark lord spawns, I even doubt is a creature at all, it resembles the face of a hunter, it has a structure similar to a blaster on its released state, but I don't remember any of the creatures of the dark lord to have such a mesh of flesh and metal on their bodies, it is quite a disturbing creature, and I doubt that either Naruto the maelstrom and Danny the tsunami had met one like that, and both of them have faced one of the creatures of the dark lord respectively," **Fira stated solemnly.

"Naruto…Danny…those are the other rayearths right? Naruto is the one of the wind, and Danny must be the one of water" Fira nodded at Ichigo's question.

"**Yes, I admit I let slip their names of course, I wanted you to get them to know them when it was your time to go to Crystalia, and after all you three are the physical representation of the pillars placed on Terras"**

"Right now I'm more worried about that thing than anything else, Renji was with Byakuya…Byakuya struck me and then I got a leech on me…does that mean that Byakuya…"

"**Hardly, that man is just and unwilling means for an end, his blade carried a leech without neither realizing, and it seems that Renji had something else, something that waited until he began to doubt, obviously he was there to stall you long enough to be attacked by those shinigami, but he doubted, he despaired, and that was enough for that creature to emerge of him…that Revenant, whatever it is obviously is of the dark lord, but not like the ones I saw before, this must be a new breed…meaning new problems" **Fira stated.

"Yeah, but why this dark lord would bother in creating a creature like the revenant?" Ichigo asked, **"Obviously to stop you, Crystalia is in peril, it seems the dark lord will resurface, you and the other knights are all that stands in his way, I assure you that, he dark lord wants free reigns to control Crystalia, and he will blow the planet you live in if needed to stop you and the others, but since he can't he will have to settle in sending his minions, Danny and Naruto have already faced their own, this is too much of a coincidence to ignore, the dark creatures are back, and so their master"**

"Great…simply great, what can I expect of this dark lord if I ever encounter him" Ichigo asked Fira, there she grew solemn, almost serious, **"The dark lord has dominated all dark arts, all of them, his armor is odd because whoever touches it relives fears, inner demons, a creature that lives on a world nearly on the very edges of the known universe are know and feared because their presence alone causes fear and despair, the armor of the dark lord is the same, besides that, he is strong, way too strong, he can match your raw strength easily, so if you ever fight him alone you better fight to kill because he will kill you if you give him the chance"**

"Y-you say i-if ever…it means he is not dead?" Hanatarou asked, **"Don't know, we assumed he did when the queen had to destroy the former Rayearth of water who sold his soul and body to the dark lord for the promise of power, of all the knights I let you know, the knight of water had to actually call spell work, chant the spells so he could use his element, unlike you or Naruto, in any case when the knight died, his soul, and anything attached to it got dragged to the afterlife, most rayearths souls spend one to two millenniums in the afterlife, this is because the soul of a Rayearth is way too strong compared to other mortal souls, and if reincarnated immediately then he would retain both power and memory from his past life, and trust me that ain't pretty, so to prevent that this limit of time was implemented, their power is siphoned and used all over the afterlife as a way to make the afterlife even bigger than before, after all the afterlife is bigger than the universe, it houses and unaccounted number of souls of people from all eras, even with their power siphoned, the Rayearth soul would remain strong among the horde of souls coming into the afterlife, most rayearths choose to remain in the afterlife, most because there is nothing else to do in their worlds, they basically let their imprints on crystalian history, and nothing they can do when reincarnated can match that up" **Fira stated simply.

"So…you suppose the dark lord bided his time while he was a soul in the afterlife, then when time came, he returned?" Fira nodded at Ichigo's question, **"And to boot he will not be alone, I believe the events that will come on the worlds of the Rayearth knights will gather followers to the dark lord, along with those still loyal to him, and a war, even bigger that the First Great War will be sparked"**

The solemn statement, coupled with the look Fira had in her avian form was enough to make Ichigo scowl, more than usual, and wonder what would happen in the future, added to that will be the fact that the dark lord of Crystalia would return with followers of any world the rayearths hailed, including his.

He toyed with the idea of who would join the dark lord in his crusade on whatever he planned to do.

And he dreaded the fact that so far he knew no one evil enough to join the dark lord…yet.

* * *

Byakuya narrowed his gaze as healers carried Renji away, exhausted, wounded, and overall not fit for combat, to make matters worse; it wasn't the Rayearth who did the damage to Renji, but rather another creature, what Hinamori-fukutaichou described as a mesh of technology and gore, Mayuri's wet dream he dare believes, but disturbing to see altogether, mostly because it emerged out of the back of his fukutaichou, not out of some otherworld portal, or an object which contained it once, no, out of his fukutaichou's back, of his freaking back.

One thing was certain on his head, Ichigo Kurosaki was going to pay, pay, pay, and pay!

"_Stop acting as a spoiled child Byakuya, this is not you" _Senbonzakura snapped in his mind, making Byakuya snort audibly, _"I don't need your chiding now"_

"_I understand your indignation now, but acting guided by rage is not something you do often, especially knowing that he is right" _

"_You refer to Ichigo Kurosaki?" _Byakuya thought irritated, _"Who else? You know that we zanpakutou don't spend all our time in your minds and swords, we commute with other soul slayers, we converse, in the spawn of a second we know things you take hours to think"_

"_And?"_

"_He is right…I conversed with Zabimaru and with Minazuki, this Rayearth knows that any shinigami he faces is going against their morals, their own desires, they go against their own hearts, that makes them weak, vulnerable…that's why they foresaw you would lose as well"_

"_That's stupid, that boy lacks experience" _Byakuya reminded to his zanpakutou, _"Perhaps…but his heart is set right, he knows what he has to do, even if he breaks the rules of this world, he doesn't care, all he cares is saving a friend, that is his plight"_

"_Then he will fail, he alone can't stand against Seireitei alone"_

"_Are you certain of that?" _the way Senbonzakura told him that, like a taunt made his narrow his eyes, never his zanpakutou had questioned him, or taunted him.

"_I am"_

"_Right…like you are now that what you're doing is wrong…where is the man who loved Hisana? Who broke the rules of his own clan to follow his heart, his will, where is the man who took Hisana's sister under him, breaking the rules once again…you changed so bad the day she died and you made that promise, that stupid and useless promise"_

"_Enough! If you don't have anything else to say then remain silent!" _Byakuya in that moment was beyond angry, but years of being the head of his family and keeping a stern look allowed him to shield his anger of anyone looking at him in the moment.

"…_Sode no Shirayuki is sad"_

Byakuya remained silent after that comment, not realizing the way Senbonzakura expressed itself when he told him about Sode no Shirayuki, he never noted how sad his zanpakutou sounded, and after all as Byakuya considered Rukia as his sister, Senbonsakura considered Sode no Shirayuki as his sister.

But as his master, he shared his same believes; after all he was a reflex of Byakuya's soul, feelings, like most zanpakutous, and so he was bound to the same promise Byakuya made…while stupid an unnecessary, it was still a promise with a lot of weight.

But soon Byakuya would realize that some promises, while with a lot of weight being made, are worth breaking.

* * *

Uryuu would never admit it, but Orihime is a very frightening girl, who would believe that under that innocent face lay a devil in all the sense of the word, and he wasn't referring to the incident relating the wraiths and the shinigami in the morning, no it was another thing.

Security around Seireitei was getting thicker, that was certain, most shinigami that once were unconscious were now on their feet, although barely, and more important, they found a weakness on the massive force of Seireitei.

While the captains most surely knew each other, their subordinates didn't, so with that idea in mind, they decided that they should dress as shinigami, it was the perfect idea, that way they would maneuver themselves around Seireitei easily without the need to fight a needless fight, all they needed was a pair of shinigami robes.

Orihime proved the pair after the beat a pair of shinigami into unconsciousness and stole their clothes, and he had seen it all, if he ever were to tell anyone about that, no one would believe it, in fact they would laugh at him, and why not, Orihime Inoune is perhaps the sweetest girl know so far, incapable of killing a fly.

"_Tell that to the mutilated enemies she butchered with one of her hairpins" _he mused, innocent she might look, but she is all but innocent, that was certain, she had taken those two shinigami so easily that it was painful to even watch, and to add it had been Tatsuki who had taught Orihime how to fight, and Orihime…she actually told him that she was near black belt level, or so Tatsuki mentioned her once.

"_Honestly, is like every woman that knows Kurosaki are weird in a way, a black belt tomboy, an innocent girl with murderous fits and can chop you with her hairpins and who can forget the midget shinigami that gave him powers to fight hollows…at least I can thank her for starting this mess and allowing me to see how shinigami run like headless chickens" _he thought with a mental smile, if only he had brought a camera…

"Ishida-kun, I found this on one of their clothes" Orihime proudly displayed a camera, a digital camera, of course fashioned for shinigami, but a camera nonetheless, _"Whoa…today seems my lucky day" _he thought as he grabbed the camera, his dad would have to give an arm, or better yet, one of his techniques to have one of the many pictures he would take of the assault of Seireitei.

The night had fallen, but that was not impediment for the two Ryoka in incognito, several shinigami had passed them, only to stop and ask if they had seen the 'orange menace' Uryuu had to blink at that, not even a day here and Ichigo had already a nickname, in fact it seemed that the shinigami were more focused on Ichigo that even of the other Ryoka, which was both a blessing and a annoyance, seriously, he might be the Rayearth of fire but that doesn't mean they are not less dangerous than him.

Well at least they could move freely and unopposed until they could reach Rukia's prison, the tower of penitence, which was surely where Ichigo was heading, how they found that info, they just asked, as simple as that, it didn't involved a fight or something like that, just asking, it seemed that Rukia's place of imprisonment was a hot topic because of its meaning, while her crime was punishable with death, the tower of penitence was kinda…harsh, especially considering that her execution method was reserved only for captain level shinigami who had really messed up.

And so, with the cover of night and their disguises which actually worked, they carved their way towards the white tower…

**BOOM!**

That was until an explosion nearby stopped them dead on their tracks, not because it had been very close to them, but because it had been loud, really loud, enough to make Orihime duck, believing that the explosion had been right at their side, and not two compounds of distance.

"Come on Inoune-san, it was far, it won't affect us as long we remain outside of this" Uryuu assured gently to the shaken girl who slowly nodded and stood up, but shaken nonetheless after the explosion, Uryuu decided it was best to seek a place to rest and a low Orihime to regain her bearings, after all they wouldn't do too much good to rescue Rukia if they were tired and depraved of their sleep.

Neither realized that the explosion that Seireitei felt was caused by someone who didn't like Mayuri much.

The compound was in flames, simple as that, a complete and utter mess, as shinigami began to pour around the area to rescue anyone trapped on the rubble that was once the 12th division compound, one Mayuri wondered who could have done this, who could have caused his beloved lab to be set aflame, and to top it all, to be sadistic enough to rip his arms, legs and let him there to watch how he or she blew the place up.

"_Oh when I get my hands on that guy he will wish he was never born, I will gut him like a fish, use his heart as a paperweight, his skull to drink fine wine and his insides as food for my experiments!"_

No one there realized that a guardian had been the reason Mayuri lost his division and all his experiments, one guardian that hated Mayuri's guts with a passion for causing the near extinction of a race for his selfish goals, and Mayuri would not meet the perpetrator of this act until later…much later.

* * *

Aizen paced around the halls of his division, pondering, wondering, scheming, which was odd, even to him, and why not find it odd, he had a plan laid out, so meticulous, so perfect that it was foolproof, perfect in all the sense of the word, he had it all planned…and then he had to come and ruin everything.

So far half of his plan had gone well, the other half was completely lost, simple as that, there was no other way to describe it, he had expected him of course, he had set things nicely…

But then it happened, it being him turning into a goddamn Rayearth, a Rayearth of all things was something he didn't expect, not even in a thousand years, a Rayearth knight, truly the 'X' on his formula, not only that, it seemed weird shit, for the lack of better words happened ever since he arrived, like the massacre of the maggot's nest, the freaking thing that came out of Renji, which according to numerous statements was Mayuri's wet dream, and who can forget the most recent, the 12th division exploited, as in 'it blew sky high and all inside was turned into a crisp' thing, all concurred in a thing, Mayuri was angry after this, and would hunt whoever did this to his lab, if he ever find out who it was, and he had to admit, he had not the slightest idea of who had done it.

Wondering about the current events, and how every counter-plan he made seemed rubbish once put into action, he almost didn't notice someone around, almost.

"…I have you know that I can kill you in a instant" Aizen said, his hand not even reaching his zanpakutou, he didn't need to, he could kill any opponent without them realizing until their pieces fell to the ground, but he was intrigued, this person had almost went unnoticed by him, almost, his curiosity was picked.

"Oh but doing that would not allow me to tell you my intentions" a female voice cooed on his ear, but Aizen was not impressed neither intimidated by that, in fact he was curious, "Who are you?" he asked.

"Someone who wants the Rayearth death, and you my dear Aizen, you are my key to success" the woman said, his voice melodious, but Aizen had yet to see her, "Really? I have you know that I have my own plans to deal with Ichigo Kurosaki" he stated.

"But in due time Aizen, and I hate waiting, I want the Rayearth death, a corpse, his body broken, his blood staining the ground, I want his head as a trophy" the woman spoke, Aizen could detect the untamable rage she felt for the Rayearth knights in her tone of voice, it was odd.

"You realize I have a plan of my own that can't be changed" he replied, "Your plan is of little concern to me Aizen, for all intents and purposes it won't work, trust me on that" the woman began.

"You want the little toy inside Rukia Kuchiki; I can give it to you, all I ask is time" she continued, "I want you to send all your division to the last place the Rayearth was sighted, he will emerge, and fight them, the time he will take to defeat them will be my time to take the toy you carve out of Rukia" she stated, "And if you inform more shinigamis about the location of the Rayearth…the better" she stated finally.

"…Do not kill Rukia" Aizen said, "Pardon me?"

"If Rukia dies, then Ichigo will burn all in his path, even the heavens, and I don't want to sit on a burned throne, I want Rukia Kuchiki alive"

"Oh trust me she will live, but I will leave a little present inside her, just like the one I left on Renji" her chuckle was enough to make Aizen narrow his eyes, "Know this Aizen, my lord will praise you for your diligent services" was all he heard of her for the moment.

Aizen narrowed his eyes at that, he didn't liked the way she expressed of him, her key to success, being used like a pawn, he didn't like it, now he knew what others felt when he did the same to them, but one thing was him manipulating people without them knowing, this was different, he was being manipulated and he was going to follow it willingly.

"It seems…I'll have to move the time table"

* * *

Kenpachi is not known for worrying on people, unless those people are the ones he is going to fight to the death, if he worries about them it would be only because he wants them to be strong enough to fight them, a proper fight to the end.

But today he was worried, and not because one of his potential opponents was weak or something like that, Ikkaku had pretty much told him that Ichigo was a sucker for punishment, whatever he would dish at Ichigo, Ichigo could shrug it like nothing, which was good, most of his opponents were crybabies.

What had him worried, really worried was Yachiru, she was acting strange…okay stranger than usual, she has been quiet for most of the day, only to speak once…

"Bad things approach" was all she said and then resumed her quiet stay on his shoulder, which freaked him to a new level, Yachiru never, never went silent for so long, and something was up, he was certain of it.

As he remained seated on the top of one of the buildings that oversaw any of the four possible entrances, he never noticed how Yachiru stood up; lost in thought he never felt her intentions until she was in front of him, her eyes focused on his lone eye, shining on the pale light that was offered by the few lamplights around.

"Gomen" was all she said before her forehead impacted on his, he has been on his share of impacts with Yachiru's steel like forehead, and never hurt him, but this one was different altogether, because he felt pain, lots of it, much to his shock, and then darkness, lots of darkness.

Yachiru by her part stared at the unconscious form of the man that was as close as a father to her, although with a murderous spree and unnatural bloodlust, she didn't even want to think how he would act once she hits puberty and start noticing men.

But that was not the case in the moment; right now she had something to do, something that didn't include Kenpachi Zaraki…for the moment, glancing to the floor she saw how several shinigami squads began to form around the last known position of the Rayearth Ryoka, _"Fools" _she thought, if the army of the dark lord could not kill one, if countless conflicts were unable to extinguish the knights, there is no doubt neither will a bunch of death gods that have yet to achieve Bankai, or a high tolerance to pain.

She could see that this plan of attack was just to gain time, nothing else, and only pain would be achieve out of this, and destruction.

With a scoff she sat in a lotus position, closed her eyes and waited for the morning, Kenpachi would be out for a good time, there was no need to worry for him for now, she had just to wait and gather her energy.

After all if she was going to test the Rayearth knight properly like in old times, then she had to be ready for him in mind, spirit and body…especially body.

* * *

The sotaichou of the Gotei 13 had experience on his belt, that was certain, 2000 years of battles, decisions, actions, combats, wounds, deaths and other things, two millenniums to study, to hone his skills, his spiritual energy was bigger than any of other shinigami, his physical strength was better left untold, suffice to say that with a finger he could pulverize a normal human being, without trying, in 2000 years he has been undefeated…

Until that day 300 years ago…

"_I loved him…he did nothing to earn your wrath…"_

"_The law is the law; no hollow will become a plus with such unnatural means"_

"_THIS ISN'T YOUR WORLD BASTARD, DIE!"_

That day still haunts his nights, the face of his almost killer, the scars on his body for her blade are still to fresh, too raw, she surpassed in every single way possible, and she had been angry at that moment, attacking only with mindless wrath, he shuddered at the notion of fighting that woman had she been sound of mind at the moment, he would be alive that would be certain.

He obviously owed his life to Retsu; she had saved him by exposing her own life…

Now 300 years later, the Rayearth knights return, and again whenever they go, chaos follow, well not on his world, not on his watch.

In 300 years a lot of things had happened, and he had to make some hard decisions, sentence former comrades to death sentences, he saw how Unohana changed after her encounter with the Rayearth of wind, how captains and lieutenants, the best of their time turned into hollow hybrids, the very first, he had to lie about the true fate of the prince of Soul Society, how such man had forsaken his own kind for a mortal woman and a Quincy, and how he was forced by Central 46 to send shinigami to kill them all, none of the assassins returned.

And now he saw the offspring of that man return to Soul Society, like a harbinger of destruction, Ichigo Kurosaki…Kurosaki…Isshin Kurosaki…

"You know your objective Soifon, failure is not an option, take your men to the human world and do not return unless you have both targets in your power, is that understood?" the captain of the 2nd division nodded her head, knowing that this was she was meant to, she didn't knew why Unohana was send to fight a Rayearth, and while her pride told her that she should have been the one, her common sense told her that if she had gone to the human world, it would have been her last mission.

But this was different, very different, as she stood up and walked away of the 1st division barracks, she took two pictures out of her sash, and memorized the faces in there, her targets.

Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki, the sisters of the Rayearth knight.

_**At dawn…**_

Ichigo eyes opened slowly, his right hand gripping Zangetsu tightly, his guard was up, it has been ever since the rise of the Revenant, that thing was something of the dark lord, but at the same time new, something not even Fira knew it existed.

As he stood up and stretched a little, he saw Hanatarou basically stumble in front of him, pale as a sheet of paper, "Hanatarou?"

"T-they are all over the place!" Hanatarou exclaimed, "S-someone tipped them of the possible exits above us, we can't go out without being spotted!" the 4th division medic exclaimed, he was scared, that gave Ichigo a slight idea of what Hanatarou saw outside, but just to be sure he wasn't exaggerating, he reached to his 'flame sense' true it was named for the fact he could feel the flame in the souls of people, and shinigami, being in a way souls with bodies no human with spiritual power could see, had one as well, what he felt once he used it was staggering.

The whole courtyard was littered with Shinigami; it was like a convention of sorts, flames of all sizes littered the ground, all waiting, all expecting, tense like mouse traps, hands on their zanpakutous, the zanpakutous itching to fight whoever had amassed such force against itself, he could feel Zangetsu as well, he was calm as ever, so far he has only complained of the light rain that fell last week, nothing else, Ichigo really considered in adding something else to Zangetsu's inner world, maybe a turf of trees, plants and a pond, and considering that the other inner world, the one Fira resided was a floating volcano, well Zangetsu would appreciate it.

"_I would_" his zanpakutou reminded, he wondered where he had got such a serious zanpakutou, they were supposed to be reflexes of his soul, he was surprised Zangetsu didn't turn like his old man, there he shuddered at the mental image, and seemingly Zangetsu as well.

"_They are really serious in stopping me" _Ichigo thought, _**"What ichigito, afraid?" **_Fira asked with a taunting voice.

"…_Nah" _Ichigo thought, he could feel Zangetsu waiting to fight as well, to prove he was stronger that any zanpakutou that would oppose them, he could feel even Ignis itching to come out and shred everything on its path, the sword being tied to his soul, therefore being like a brother weapon of Zangetsu, in a way.

Ichigo considered his options, which were two in fact, go out and fight, or take a longer route, the problem? Time, the longer he took to reach Rukia, the closer she would be to be executed, he had to help her, she was his friend, in a way, sort off, he owed it to her, she saved his family by giving him her powers, so he owed it to her.

"So fight it is" he stated as he summoned Ignis, "Hanatarou, from here out things will get hard, I won't blame you if you return you Unohana" Ichigo began, "I understand that Ichigo-san" Hanatarou began, suddenly reached for his backpack, Ichigo saw with some interest how Hanatarou dug for some things in it, first pulling what seemed to be a round pill with a skull in it.

"This is issued to all 4th division members, once we eat it we regain our full strength and energy, along with a raise wound regeneration rate" Hanatarou handed the small round pill to Ichigo who observed the thing with some apprehension, "It has a skull in it" he said.

"Yeah…well most our equipment has it, including the scalpels"

"It has…a skull in it"

"Unohana-Taichou and the Shinigami Women Association has tried to change it to something more cute…Rukia-san still insists in on a Chappy the bunny emblem"

"…I like the skull" Ichigo said, imagining a Chappy the bunny head instead of a skull in the pill, he shuddered at the image.

Soon Hanatarou was pulling something else of his backpack, Ichigo blinked when he saw Hanatarou pull a zanpakutou out of that backpack, "We carry a lot of things, so the 12th division gave us this enhanced backpacks, we carry more things than possible, and without the added weight" Hanatarou replied, there Ichigo recognized the zanpakutou.

"That's…"

"Rukia-san zanpakutou" Hanatarou told gently, grasping the sheathed zanpakutou with care and offering it to Ichigo, "How…how did you…I thought zanpakutous only reacted to their owners?"

"They do, as per request of the sotaichou…they were going to destroy it" Hanatarou said, "They can't…a zanpakutou is tied to the shinigami…the shinigami would have to die and the zanpakutou to be destroyed… or at least I believe that" Ichigo said, "H-hai…some of us believe the same, most shinigami who die on missions and are recovered are buried with their zanpakutous, most of them are broken during combat though" Hanatarou replied, seeing how Ichigo grasped the zanpakutou with his free hand, staring at the blade that had started it all, the blade that was plunged on his heart and gave him his shinigami powers, the same blade that started it all…

With a sigh he tied the zanpakutou to his left side, like most shinigami do, while still holding Zangetsu with his right, leaving his left hand free to use Ignis, "Ichigo-san…" Hanatarou called over, Ichigo turned around, spotting the shy and dark shinigami/medic looking at him, "Please" he then bowed to Ichigo, "Please rescue Rukia-san" he said with conviction, "I lack…I lack the strength…but you don't…please rescue her…she doesn't deserve that punishment for doing what is right" Ichigo stared at Hanatarou, the boy keeping his head bowed down, he was basically begging him to help Rukia (something he would do)

"You don't have to beg" Ichigo began, "I am going to save her, she's my friend and I'm not going to let her suffer for something she believed was right" Ichigo said with conviction, "Although you should warn Unohana that she better prepare a lot of medics in her division, I'm not going to be too kind" Ichigo said, walking away, "And thanks for the pill, I'll use it when I see it fit" and with that Ichigo dashed away towards darkness, to anyone who might have been seeing this, it would have been a suicide charge onto their immediate demise, but Hanatarou knew otherwise, he could see it on Ichigo eyes.

He would succeed, he would win, and he would rescue Rukia.

Besides it also helped that Hanatarou could see a ghostly figure of Fira, smirking at Ichigo as he ran towards the exit, then look at him, wink, blow a kiss to him and vanish, he reminded himself that he had been traveling with a Rayearth knight, he had seen him fight against a fukutaichou and overwhelm him easily, hell they escaped of a possible ambush easily as well, and flipped down a captain easily, he overpowered a captain in hand-to-hand combat.

Besides, when he thinks it, only a captain or many could stand against him, and considering that they are more concerned on other matters, and divided in either by their alliance with his captain, of helping the captain-commander, or being the so called traitor.

"(Sigh) good luck" was all Hanatarou could muster to say to the retreating figure, then turned tail and walked away as well, hoping that he had done more for Ichigo, not knowing he had done more than Retsu ever hoped.

* * *

"You realize the moment our brother sees us like this he will maul you, not to speak of the oaf of my dad will do the same, but taking his time?"

"Karin-chan, don't"

"You know is true Yuzu"

"Enough" Soifon ordered, her eyes narrowed (more than usual) at the two girls, the soft looking girl, Yuzu looked on the verge of tears, while the dark haired girl Karin was itching to kick her sky high, and she would, she had seen the girl basically break one of her ninjas ribs with a well placed kick before they could subdue her, Yuzu presence alone seemed to heal and augment the powers of any ally of her, reason why her fukutaichou Omaeda was on the care of Unohana, the last kick which was a combination of Karin and Yuzu power had broke his whole ribcage, and send him flying three blocks, and she doesn't want to start about their father, the guy bare handed broke the neck of a dozen of her men before going shinigami and blasting the rest, overall it had been a bitter victory, they got the girls, but she lost too many of her soldiers in the assault, her fukutaichou was on the hospital, and she actually dreaded to even think what would their brother, the Rayearth Ryoka would do once he finds out, not that he would do much anyway.

Glancing around she saw with a smile the combined forces of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 11th and 12th divisions, it was enough of a daunting force, kido users, zanjutsu experts, haduka adepts, it was not the bulk of the shinigami army, but it was close enough, besides this was the force composed of those who remained standing after the fall of the imperial shield.

She was worried more because of the morality of the idea of the sotaichou, they had kidnapped the sisters of the Rayearth, to use them as a leverage to stop him once and for all, while as a member of a unit that does a lot of black ops, using kids as hostages and bargain chips was morally distasteful, even for her, there she realized of the deep hatred the sotaichou had for the Rayearth knights and how much he would do to stop, kill and maul the knight of fire.

But if the Rayearth of fire took it after his father, which she hoped did not, then the causality toll would be high enough to put the one of Kenpachi in shame.

Looking around, Soifon could only spot five captains, Gin, Byakuya, Tousen, Hitsugaya and Komamura, with her there was six captains and their respective lieutenants, ready to face the knight of fire.

"_Is more like we are going to face a Vasto Lorde" _she mentally mussed, it didn't take a genius to realize that the night was in Soul Society for a reason, he was here to rescue Kuchiki Rukia, to make matters worse, doing such a thing to the already insulted ego of the captain of the 6th, not to add the head of the Kuchiki family, the dead of Rukia would restore the honor smeared by her actions, on that she could relate with the captain of the 6th division, she has tried to restore the honor of the 2nd division when Yoruichi escaped along with the shinigami/hollow hybrids codenamed 'Vizard'

"Ichigo is going to kick your asses so badly" Karin snapped, trying to move her body, but unable to do so, albeit they used the very first binding spell, they had to overpower it so they would not escape, Soifon didn't realize that the two girls mere presence was enough to disrupt the spell and break free is done by a weak shinigami, so Byakuya casted it on the girls, along with that there was the new, and perhaps only prototype of spiritual energy presence suppressor (or SEPS) in existence, it looked like a normal plastic hoop on the ground and around the girls, but was in fact an advanced piece of mechanical wonder that suppressed the mere presence of any shinigami, hollow or whatever else that stood within the boundaries, the best thing it seemed that whatever ability the Rayearth used to sense presences was also denied, so the presence of the twins was hidden.

They knew that when Ichigo arrived they would basically feel his presence…

"Holy shit! No one told us we are fighting a monster!"

Of course no one counted by the fact that Ichigo leaked reiatsu like crazy, oddly enough friends and allies were not affected by this overwhelming presence, but other spiritual aware beings such a shinigami and hollows would feel and be very affected by the mere brush of Ichigo's presence.

Soifon could see with some apprehension how half of the bulk of the force tensed even more, all pale like paper sheets, the other half, mostly veterans tried to remain calm, but seemed impossible considering that the presence of Ichigo, albeit not visible, seemed to exude one single thought, I'm stronger than you and I can crush you with my presence alone.

Soon one of the titles of the courtyard floor began to move slightly, everyone tensed up, they saw someone poke a part of its head around, and only its eyes visible, then it seemed to lock on the shapes of Yuzu and Karin.

What followed next was perhaps the scariest moment any shinigami had ever experienced in their lives.

The floor basically was obliterated from the inside out; an Omni-directional force seemed to have carved its way out of the ground, then they saw Ichigo emerge of the hole, once he touched the ground, the floor ignited in flames, not your average flames mind you, this flames were red crimson, not a mesh of red, yellow or other color, pure red, add to that the roar of rage of a million voices emerging on the flames that began to lick the ground around Ichigo and melt it, along with the sudden emergence of a geyser of lava behind Ichigo, out of the hole he made, and at the same time all this happened the presence of Ichigo was further felt by all when his reiatsu spiked to untold levels, and the feeling of dread was replaced by another one.

Dead, destroy, kill, annihilate, murder, obliterate.

Ichigo eyes were burning in all the literal sense, his sclera was basically engulfed in fire, while his irises were orange fire, glowing, nothing like anything seen, not even in hollows, his body surrounded by a blue aura, his zanpakutou was basically screaming for the blood of Ichigo enemies, and when the red twin of Ichigo's zanpakutou arrived as well, the feeling doubled.

With an inhuman roar, Ichigo swung Zangetsu to a formation of shinigami to his left, blowing anything caught in its path with a blue crescent energy wave, the shinigami caught in the blast were broken and unconscious even before they could drawn their now broken zanpakutous.

Turing to his left he swung Ignis, a crescent stream of flames emerging out of the blade, engulfing the ground and several shinigami legs along the way, the screams of pain were enough to snap anyone of the shock of seeing such a destructive entrance.

The shinigami cried a battle cry as they rushed to the enraged Rayearth, a bad idea later on, Ichigo turned his gaze on the charging group, his eyes glowed purple for a second, then the whole group was blasted away with a powerful telekinetic blast that broke their bones like twigs, the blasted shinigami landed on the ground, hard, like raining, Hitsugaya noted, while not noting it had been a telekinetic blast, that changed when two columns were lifted of their bases by Ichigo without touching them, then shot them to the largest group of shinigami, forcing them to scatter of their position, captains also moved of the way, Komamura remaining on his position, very close of the girls, not moving a muscle, as the dust rose, he knew he had a chance.

One he took by basically placing his gigantic feet on the loop around the girls, effectively damaging the device, with an ease that made the girls wonder what he would next, Komamura undid their bindings, making the girls blink even more, once it was done, he turned to his right, and saw Ichigo mere inches of him, looking at the scene.

"Make it believable, this is not over by a long shot" Ichigo nodded, and impacted Komamura sides with the backside of his hand 'lightly' the fox-man grunted as he was launched away of the scene, no one the wiser of what happened.

"Komamura, friend, are you okay?" Tousen asked, "Yes, he hits really hard, in physical combat he can outmatch us all easily" Komamura replied, "I vouch for that" Hitsugaya muttered, unsheathing his zanpakutou, but not knowing why it felt so wrong to do that, "Oh I'm so going to regret this later on, I can feel it, Sit upon the frozen haven, Hyōnimaru!" Hitsugaya called, his zanpakutou becoming actually larger than before, a chain emerging out of the hilt along with a crescent blade attached to so said chain.

"How would you regret something like this?" Soifon asked, readying her zanpakutou, "We are facing invaders, whatever means needed to stop them are welcome and used" she stated, "We never faced an invader with the power to level our world and we kidnapped his sisters, I'm still wondering why we are still alive" Komamura stated simply, drawing his zanpakutou as well, but not unleashing its shikai yet.

They waited for any sign of the Rayearth to attack them, or of the dust to settle so they could have a good sight of the knight and attack, what they didn't counted was for a literal ring of white fire to emerge and surround Ichigo and his sisters, protecting them of any attack, without a thought Hitsugaya swung Hyōnimaru, an ice dragon emerging out of the tip of the blade, sailing towards the firewall, only to be melted away even before it could actually touch the wall.

"Not good, that wall seems too hot for Hyōnimaru" Hitsugaya replied, "Then we use other means" Soifon snarled, raising her hand at the firewall, "Sankaho!" the energy red ball sailed out of Soifon's hand, but much to her shock the ball was consumed by the wall.

"That…was so cool" Gin stated with a grin, assuming his usual stance, "Shoot to kill, Shinsou" his zanpakutou shot at top speed as usual as he released it, but only to stop mere inches of the wall, then to retract back to its original length, not sporting a melted tip.

Gin stared at his zanpakutou, then at the wall, and opened a lone eye, slightly.

"That could be a problem"

* * *

Ichigo hugged his sisters with all he had; he was scared for their welfare that was certain, he was the older brother for a reason, after a good minute of a good family hug, he released both girls of their hugs, seeing both girls gasp for air, "Gomen" Ichigo said as he looked at Karin and Yuzu, both girls stared at their big brother in shock, apprehension and surprise, all above being understandable, he had basically flipped when he saw them as hostages, than and basically raising hell from the depths with his presence.

There he finally noticed that his sisters were not usually clad in normal clothes, but rather white robes, like the ones Rukia had the day he got his powers of her, _"This must be her spirit forms, her bodies must be somewhere nearby"_

"Ichi-nii" Yuzu said shakily, then threw herself at Ichigo, hugging him for all that was worth, sobbing while at it, Karin just remained near Ichigo, holding his hand, flanked by the two massive cleavers, relieved to see her brother fine and well, although as shaken as her sister after seeing that display of destruction.

"Why are you both here? What happened to dad?" Ichigo asked, "I don't know, we were attacked at midnight, we tried to defend ourselves, every single one of the guys that tried to get close Yuzu got all shaky in the legs, dad used that to grab them and break them, I never seen dad so angry, he had to guys on a chokehold, then I heard a crack and those guys stopped fighting, I got a fat guy that tried to sneak on my dad, I got him good but…" Karin stated.

"That girl with the piggy tails knocked us down, last I remember was dad actually getting angry and becoming that death god thingy and the cry of 'split apart' and then nothing else until we woke up here…the man with the fox head was kind with us, he brought us food" Yuzu said.

"Those guys crossed the line this time" he declared, never he had been so angry in his life, it was okay they were trying to kill him because he was invading their land, but damn using his sisters as hostages, now he is mad.

But he stopped short when he was about to rush again into battle when he saw that the white firewall loosing height, "The hell" he muttered, looking around he saw some red glows that emerged in a erratic but constant pattern, seeing there that they were using that 'Sankaho' spell Renji used on him on their last encounter.

He felt Karin clutch the helm of his uniform, Yuzu opting to clutch his whole leg, now there was a problem, if he moved, his sisters would be open for attack, if he stayed then Rukia…

"_Damn it"_ he mentally swore, if he moved then they would attack his sisters, they would get them again, they would wound them, or worse…

Images of Karin and Yuzu covered in blood flashed in his mind, Ichigo shivered at that, it was like the leech all over again.

"_No…I won't let that happen"_

_**You will…and you know what…you must.**_

Ichigo blinked at the sudden intrusion of a third voice on his head, as if two wasn't enough, he got a third, this one however was not full of life like the one of Fira, or wise and patient like the one of Zangetsu, this one was different, gruffer, darker, taunting…

_**I can help you with that, **_suddenly Ichigo's right arm twitched, eyes widening, he commanded his arm to stop, forcing it if possible, _**they are a nuisance, they must be removed,**_ the voice stated firmly, _"Back off my sisters whatever the hell you are"_

_**You are as naïve as Fira if you believe you can outmatch me on your own you little piece of shit, I am stronger than you, powerful beyond anything you ever imagined, I can crush you with a flick of my wrist, and I will do so, nothing will stop me, not even this petty brotherly love.**_

"_I said…ENOUGH!" _Ichigo forced his whole body to a lockdown, basically saving his sisters of whatever wanted to attack them.

_**Don't you dare to block me you stupid…**_

"_**Enough with you" **_Fira made herself know finally, Ichigo could hear clearly the howls of rage and indignation of the other voice, it was pissed, and that was for certain.

_**Fira! You whore!**_

"_Speak to the lady with respect" _Zangetsu replied, making his presence know as well, Ichigo felt the familiar reiatsu of Zangetsu leak to him, to whatever the hell that was inside of him this time, Ichigo made a face as he felt something compress on his chest, growing smaller and smaller until it was nothing else, then expelled of his body.

He couldn't shake the feeling that the empty spot would be occupied almost immediately, but he was focused on other matters, like his sisters welfare.

"_The hell was that?"_

"_**A nemesis, tagged along with the leech the day you got your ass owned, but bought its time to attack, waiting until you doubted" **_Fira answered.

"_Oh really? Then why I just find out of this now?"_

"_**Well I realized that it would take time, and I mean a lot of time before the nemesis awoke, and when I mean time I mean time alongside the other knights, after all three knights have better odds against a nemesis that one, the nemesis is the equivalent of a Rayearth knight in terms of strength and skill in the army of the dark lord" **_Fira confessed.

"_Ugh…so what happened to the thing? I thought that I would fight it to the bitter end"_

"_**So do I Ichigito, but it seems that while I have information coming out of the dragon of time itself, we never took along the chaos factor, hell your sisters weren't suppose to be here at all"**_

"_I…see, so what happened to the thing?"_

"_**Oh the old goat here compressed the soul of the nemesis and expelled it out of you, causing a void that was immediately filled out with your inner hollow which I believe was dead"**_

Ichigo blinked, did she just said inner hollow?

"_**That's what I said, oh guess what?"**_

"_What?"_

"_**He wants to say hello"**_

Ichigo blinked again, and the most disturbing voice he ever heard came to his mind, his mixed with another three voice tones.

"_**Hello sweetheart! Miss me?"**_

Surrounded with shinigami and inside a white ring of fire, with his two just kidnapped sisters, just finding out he had another monster stuck in him and that urged him to kill his sisters, now pushed away of him and replaced by a hollow replica of him, Ichigo could only say one thing.

"Sunova…"

He never noticed the strange gold rune pattern on one of the finger holes of his left glove as he let a curse while his sisters were close.

* * *

Rukia gasped, her breath labored, if she ever got out of this alive, she was going to do one thing in particular, kill, brutalize and maim Urahara, and not exactly in that order.

Laying on the ground, gasping for breath, Rukia stared at the woman standing in front of her, clad solely on leather and high heels, the clothes hugging her curves damn too well, white hair that reached her waist easily, what outstand more of the woman was not her figure or her hair, no, it was the elf like ears that were fully pierced and filled with earrings, that and her violet irises with green sclera, not even in hollows she had seen such an eye color, it was odd, disturbing, astonishing, it was clear this woman was not of this world.

The confines of her cell suddenly were saturated with reiatsu, the familiar reiatsu of Ichigo, she could recognize the massive spiritual pressure that Ichigo always exuded, she spend with him not long that two months on his company, trying to figure out how a human could have such amount of spiritual energy, and why his family had higher amounts of spiritual power for being humans.

But this feeling was different, Ichigo's reiatsu basically screamed dead to his enemies, he was angry, that was for certain, she had never felt his reiatsu like that, _"What the hell is going on?"_

"Oh, it seems that kidnapping his family is a bad idea, memo to myself, avoid that idea at all cost" the woman said, reaching for something on her neck, pulling a medallion of sorts out, the medallion was fashioned like a flame, made of a piece of Ruby, Rukia noted.

"Faeron, did you catch the revenant?" she spoke to the medallion.

"Yes Eurania, this creature proves elusive, but is rather weak, why our lord made such a weak creature?"

"Because" Rukia only had time to blink when he saw Eurania raise her hand, catching something that was invisible to her eyes, but a second later materialized on her palm, a black orb that was no bigger than the one the woman took out of her body by force.

"Our esteemed knight just gave us a nemesis as a gift" Eurania said with a gleam on her eyes, slowly pocketing the black orb in a separate pouch on her waist, far of the other orb she pulled out of her body, why she had and orb encased in a glass configuration was beyond Rukia, Eurania then turned to Rukia, "Now my dear, he is interested in finding you…" she began, kneeling in front of her, "Let's make it worth his while" dark mist surrounded her hand as it approached Rukia's chest.

Outside her cell, two beheaded guards were the only thing that remained and only silent witnesses of Rukia's pained scream.

* * *

Ichigo tried to regain composure, he really tried, but considering that he just found out that he has an inner hollow, another occupant on his head, made that quite hard.

"Ichi-nii" the soft voice of Yuzu snapped Ichigo (and therefore his three occupants) of any mental discussion, looking down, he saw his sister stare at him with expectation, like hoping for something.

"_**Love what you have done to the place, especially the ceiling, a floating volcano and a hot girl to boot, you surely know how to make it big" **_His inner hollow said, making Ichigo groan, _"Can you please stop it, I'm in the middle of a family crisis here"_ Ichigo snapped.

"_**I know that you know? I'm you, in a sense, I'm stronger, handsome, I can woo a lady to my bed in the blink of an eye…"**_

"_**I'm still standing here"**_

"_**You're just hard to get"**_

And if things weren't bad enough, his inner hollow turned to be a pervert, just peachy.

"_Listen if you can offer something useful then shut up, I'm trying to think a way to save my sisters and defeat these assholes to a bloody pulp for kidnapping them"_

"_**Why didn't you say so before, I can help" **_his inner hollow stated, _"Excuse me, you said you want to help?"_

"_**Duh! While I want your power, in a sense your sisters are my sisters, so I'll help you, but this is a freebie, so don't expect me doing this again king"**_ his inner hollow mentioned, making Ichigo sigh and palm his face with his gloved hand…

"Hey" he mentioned out loud, noticing the rune like ring pattern on one of his glove finger holes, _"Fira, what the hell…this wasn't the last time I looked?"_

"_**Oh…it seems you passed a test"**_

"_Test?" _Ichigo wondered,_ "Test of what?"_

"_**Well, it depends, there are five tests for the rayearths to pass, each passed test grants more power to the Rayearth"**_

"_**Too easy if you ask me?"**_

"_**the trials of the knights as they are know are the trials of trust, the trials of soul, the trials of power, the trials of protection, which you passed and the trials of confrontation, each trials allows your blade to grow stronger, and unlocks a lot of good things to you"**_

"_Trials…of protection…when…"_

"_**Yes…when you opposed the nemesis influence, when you locked your own body for the sake of your sisters, when you basically trampled your way to them and created this ring of fire around you and them, this was more than enough to pass your test, to protect a familiar is a pure feeling, like love" **_hollow Ichigo snorted at that.

"_**Albeit with its backwards, like this, you rushed to protect your sisters, but now you are trapped with them, but there are always options" **_Fira reminded Ichigo, the orange head nodded at that, glancing at Ignis impaled on the ground, the only noticeable change was that the once cloth wrap was now a metallic wrap, a very thin sheet of pure white metal, which was odd, but not strange in a zanpakutou, so far he has seen zanpakutous that transform into massive axes, to segmented blades/whips, to lances, halberds, and whatnot, so Ignis gaining a metal sheet wrap was no strange.

When Ichigo grabbed Ignis, the metal wrap suddenly shot to his wrist, wrapping itself on his forearm completely, Ichigo and his sister stared at the red blade oddly, and then shrugged it as another quirk of a Rayearth blade.

"Okay" Ichigo muttered, glancing at his sister again, shooting them a reassuring smile, something odd considering that no one, not even his family has seen Ichigo smile ever since their mother died, hell Ichigo doesn't remember the last time he smiled, his face muscles kinda hurt after that.

"Listen you two, no matter what happens stick with me, I'll protect you both" Ichigo stated, the twins nodded as they saw the white fire lower more and more, _"By the way Fira…what kind of fire is white?"_

"_**Oh the ring of white fire? Is a ritual fire used long ago by monks during the non-technological days of Crystalia, at least two centuries after the war against the dark lord, this fire was created by a monk as a means to protect people inside it, or in extreme cases, keep demons inside, since the white fire is considered a defensive fire, when commanded to attack it will defy the order, since its nature is to defend, and I assure you, it defends well, from the past five minutes it was withstood at least 1000 strong Kidou attacks, and over 10000 very weak Kidou attacks, they haven't dare to use their zanpakutous because this fire will burn them"**_ Fira stated.

"Okay…I'm a boy with shinigami powers, but with an inner hollow and Rayearth powers, problem I'm only one and I have two sisters that I will protect with my life…how the hell I'm going to advance against a bunch of shinigami dead bend on attacking me and my sisters?" Ichigo mused out loud.

"Hey ichi-nii" Karin began, catching his attention, "What about your telekinesis, like what you did with those others, blast them away" Karin suggested, _**"That ain't a bad idea, use that with the freebie your hollow is giving you and all should be fine"**_

"_**See, even the guardian believes is a good idea"**_

"…_Okay…but if something happens to Karin and Yuzu…"_

"_**I told you that they are as much of sisters to you as they are to me…although you should warn them that in the next minutes you will look very creepy"**_

Ichigo had little time to warn them at all when he felt something forming around his face, spiritual particles gathering and solidifying on his face, as soon as it began, it ended, then turned to his sisters, both girls gaping at the sight of whatever that had happened to Ichigo's face.

Curious of what happened to him, Ichigo rose Zangetsu and used the blade's body as a makeshift mirror, spotting on the metal his reflex, a skull like mask stood on his face, one side white, the other black, four red stripes around the black portion of the dark side of the mask, what shocked Ichigo the most was that his eyes were hollow like, black sclera with yellow irises, while his mask wasn't as intimidating at the one of Hiyori, it made him look badass.

"**Man I look intimidating" **even his voice was changed to a mesh of his own and something high pitched, Karin and Yuzu stared still in mute shock at the change of their brother, albeit he was still their brother, just with an evil looking mask and evil looking eyes.

"**Karin, Yuzu, stand beside me and hold on tight" **Ichigo commanded, both girls did as told, holding Ichigo's robes, all three seeing how the flames began to recede, Ichigo strapped both blades on his back, and commanded the flames to vanish on his mark, meanwhile he brought his arms to his chest, and began to gather as much reiatsu as he could so he could release it along with the telekinetic blast.

Outside the flames, the shinigami tensed up, feeling a great amount of spiritual energy gathering inside the ring of fire, most of them were ready to cast more Kidou spells when they saw the white flames that damaged Gin's zanpakutou vanish completely, revealing much to their shock the two girls clutching the robes of the Rayearth…with a hollow mask on, his yellow eyes burning with an intensity and with a blue outline that made them tense up.

"**If I defend, no one will get hurt, if I attack I will cut my enemy down…THIS IS MY RESOLVE!"**

"This is going to hurt" Toshiro muttered as all the shinigami heard an inhuman roar out of Ichigo's mouth, followed by a world of pain.

* * *

Hiyori landed in front of Orihime and Uryuu, she had to hand it to them, while a not so original plan, using a shinigami's uniform was perhaps the only way to trek Seireitei if you were an invader, the massive size of Seireitei and their forces ensured that no one knew the other too well, hell she only knew the others the day she escaped Seireitei and was forced to a life of hiding and training to control her powers.

She had almost passed them without a second glance when she saw Orihime and her most striking attributes, most shinigami women didn't had breasts like Orihime, that was certain, and if they did, they hid it on wraps, no bras, another magnificent invention on the world of the living she mused.

When she landed she almost got nicked by one of the arrows of Uryuu, she couldn't blame him, he was surprised, and so he couldn't blame her for beating him to a bloody pulp for nearly nicking her with an arrow.

"Eto…Hiyori-chan…" Orihime began, healing Uryuu's wounds easily, Hiyori noted how easy Orihime healed his wounds with her fairies, and how the damage she dealt to his shinigami robes began to be fix as well.

"_Odd…the clothes of the Quincy are being fixed, is like she can't control her healing powers…or something else"_ she mentally mussed, Uryuu by his part was glaring at the girl, well he concluded he would have done the same if he had done the same he did to her, but she had to be this violent?

As he stood up, Hiyori observed the area around them, like the rest of the areas, it had been greatly affected by the fall of the imperial shield and the crash of Ichigo's massive reiatsu on them, the lack of security was another thing she was grateful she wasn't sure she would pass around hidden for too long, although Uryuu and Orihime had a solid idea, maybe she should knock a shinigami of her size and steal their robes.

**BOOM!**

Seireitei itself shook once again as another explosion shook its foundations, in the most literal way, Hiyori and Orihime fell on their butts while Uryuu tried in vain to stand up, falling on his back instead.

"The hell was that?" Uryuu asked, the explosion and quakes ended just at the same time an oppressive reiatsu hit them, one that Hiyori and Orihime recognized.

"That's a Vizard reiatsu!" Hiyori exclaimed, "Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime simply said, eyes wide, "Well I'll be dammed, he is like one of us now, Shinji is going to flip once he finds out we have to train a Vizard with Rayearth powers, we are going to need a bigger warehouse" she exclaimed, turning to the two teenagers with absurd powers, "Come on, we better see what kind of destruction he caused this time" she stated, running towards the direction where the explosion had occurred, wondering what had might set Ichigo in causing a reiatsu wave that shook Seireitei to the core.

"OH HELL THIS CAN'T BE!"

And of course what might have caused him to scream like that.

* * *

"Is not that bad ichi-nii"

"I'm supposed to be the one with the burned of the world on my shoulders, not my little sisters"

"Who your calling little carrot-top"

"Who else Karin? You're vertically challenged; Yuzu is growing taller than you"

"I AM NOT VERTICALLY CHALLENGED!"

"Tell that to the measuring tape we use"

"Ichi-nii, Karin-chan enough"

"Okay" both siblings said, more because when Yuzu spoke sternly, it was better to obey her, or no delicious food would grace their table.

Karin glanced around the area that had once been filled with shinigami, now littered with debris, broken shinigami and broken and falling swords, an ethereal like cloud of energy surrounded the area, and on her brother's feet lay that intimidating skull shaped mask, kneeling and picking it up, Karin noticed something odd on her clothes.

"Hey…they are black now" she said, "Why the hell you think I screamed" Ichigo snapped to Karin who had the mask on her hands, "I just made you soul reapers, Yipee" Ichigo said with an unamused look on his face, as usual both girls believed.

"How?" Yuzu said, "Hell if I know Yuzu…I guess too much reiatsu I poured out, and you two being close to the source triggered it, but I don't know" Ichigo summarized, looking at the two zanpakutous that her sisters had, it seemed odd that Yuzu had a small wakizashi tied to her robes, the guard held what seemed patterns of a moon in their different stages, while Karin…Karin had to take it from he of course, he had a broadsword tied to her back, the guard being plain and devoid of any kind of engraftments like the one of Yuzu or his old zanpakutou…

"_Oh yes, there are several circular drawings around it, surely soccer balls"_ Ichigo thought, looking at both his sisters, both realizing that they had weapons on, Yuzu looked like she was about to pass out when she saw her zanpakutou, while Karin…

"Oh hell yeah! Now this is what I'm talking about!" as usual felt like the queen of the world, albeit Ichigo didn't knew that now Karin could accomplish her dreams, be useful, help her family like Yuzu has always done.

"Ugh…just my luck, last thing I needed was to my sister's turn into accidental shinigami" he said, scowling more than usual, "And to boot is my fault" he added, _**"Hey ichigito, see the bright side"**_

"_WHAT BRIGHT SIDE!"_

"_**At least they don't have a hollow in them"**_

"_**Hey I resented that!"**_

Ignoring his inner hollow for the moment, Ichigo turned to his sisters, Karin had her zanpakutou out, oddly like his the first time, the sheer size and possible weight seemed to not hinder her at all, while Yuzu was apprehensive to even touch her own, let alone look at it.

"Man…Yuzu…I know this is…hard…and shocking, but I'll try to help you in all the ways I can, and so to Karin" Ichigo said, "Hey so far I like this, although the samurai robes leave much to desire" Karin mussed.

"This is not a life I wanted for neither of you" Ichigo barked; "Just look at me, I always get hurt" he began.

"Like in soccer, besides we own a clinic" Karin stated as a matter of fact.

"You will miss school often"

"I skip classes often" Karin offered, "it is true" Yuzu said with some remorse, "And she drags me with her" she added.

"You will face monsters that will kill you without hesitation"

"Then we will train, you didn't got the one who killed mum" Yuzu stated, much to the shock of her bold siblings, "What? The monster did kill her…I want retribution"

"…I still put my foot here, is too dangerous, just look at you two now, I didn't want you to become shinigami, hell I was pretty contempt with the fact that you two developed freaky powers because of me but would never be able to face a hollow" Ichigo stated eyeing at his sisters sternly, "As soon this is over I'm taking you to Urahara to either train you or at least hamper your powers slightly, last thing I need is that my sisters are fighting hollows" he said, his sisters were about to talk him back he silenced them both with a stern glare.

"Is not fair, you get to fight and we get to watch" Karin pouted, Ichigo just narrowed his eyes, grabbed her zanpakutou and sheathed it on the sheath attached to her back, "It is if I say so, and so will say dad…now why he isn't around saving you?" he asked, both girls shrugged, not knowing how to answer that.

"Guess he was too caught up in the fight, and must be with Urahara, opening a gate to enter, although…" he mused; Urahara had told them that it took some time for the gate he made to be reopened, perhaps his dad, being a former shinigami could open one of those Senkaimon gates he saw the day Rukia was taken away.

Thinking of Rukia made him realize that this was not time to stand idle, especially with his sisters around, he hated Byakuya for what he had done to Rukia, brothers were suppose to protect their siblings, to be for them when needed the most, to help them, but also to scold them if they made something bad and point their mistakes, but never helping them to correct them unless it was something really grave, he knew that, he was a brother, he always kept an eye on Karin and Yuzu, how Karin would always put a brave face when wanting to cry, because she was done crying, how Yuzu would work diligently on the house, because the dead of their mom had left a hole Yuzu wanted to fill herself.

With a sigh he ruffled the hair of both girls affectionately, "Listen to me, I can't leave you here, obviously these guys wanted me down and used underhanded tactics to do so, and as a result I gave you powers…damn…listen, you both know why I'm here right?" Yuzu nodded, but Karin…

"Of course" she said with a sly smile, "You're here to rescue your" she said, lifting her pinky finger and whispering "Girlfriend" of course Ichigo answered as usual.

"SHE AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND!" he exploited, lifting Karin by the arms and shacking her, "Why everyone keep insisting on that!"

"Maybe because you stormed a place filled with bad guys to rescue her of their clutches, you got to admit, is kinda fairy tale romantic thing you got going there" Karin answered between shakes.

Ichigo groaned, knowing she was right, much to his chagrin, he hated when she was right, she was somehow always right.

"In any case" he muttered, "I'm here to rescue her, not because I love her, because I'm her friend, and friends do that, that and kinda responsible for her being here" he confessed with a blush, making Karin sigh, _"But of course there is a reason for this"_

"Besides they are going to execute her for stupid reasons" he said, "Wait a minute…execute her? Why?" Karin asked again, Yuzu being too shocked with the word execution.

"Remember the so said truck that crashed on the clinic?" both girls nodded, "Well it wasn't a truck, it was a hollow that attacked, it trapped Karin and wounded Yuzu, Rukia was there tracking it, I got in the way of that and she got wounded, as a last resort she gave me her powers, making me a reaper as her, but I kinda zapped all her power, so I took her responsibilities as shinigami, and after a while I found out, after she was taken away, that granting powers to a human is an offense punished with death" Ichigo stated seriously, his sisters nodding slowly and following his line of sight a moment later, his eyes focused on a big white tower that was connected to other buildings by a suspension bridge.

"I have to rescue her…I owe her the least for helping me and saving you two" he said, glancing at his sisters once again, "I really don't want to put you two in danger…" Karin seemed ready to fight back that simple statement of Ichigo, "But…I guess that's too late" he said bitterly, "That old guy…that sotaichou guy send our dad's ex to kill us, not only me, but you two and dad, and for what? A 300 years old grudge against a Rayearth knight that is not even aligned to my element? For a woman who put him on his place when he pushed the rules of this world to other when it wasn't needed? For a bunch of crap about balance and rules? For fear!" Ichigo snapped forcefully, his reiatsu lashing around, yet his sisters seemed not perturbed by this.

"But this…this is the last straw, once we rescue Rukia we are cutting our ties with Seireitei, any shinigami that comes for my family and friends return in a body bag, they have no right to say who lives and who dies! Especially sending people to kill people!" Ichigo snapped, "Karin! Yuzu!" he said loud and clear, like a drill sergeant Karin noted, "Follow me closely, keep a hand on your zanpakutous and remember this, if you defend, no one gets hurt, if you attack you will cut your enemy down" Ichigo stated, "Is all reduced to resolve girls, now let's go"

"If you think I'll let you go after that insult to our society and way of life…you are sorely mistaken" Ichigo seemed to bristle like a bird at the tone of his voice, "Is not an insult, is the truth" Ichigo spat, tightening his grip on Zangetsu and Ignis, "I don't know how you stood up after that attack you traitor, but I assure you I won't make the same mistake you did with me" Ichigo said, already on a fighting stance, he noted that Karin had drawn her zanpakutou as well, he wished she didn't did that, she was still too young.

"How you dare…" Byakuya muttered, his zanpakutou already drawn, Ichigo noted, "How I dare? How you dare! Rukia is your sister, you should protect her, not to capture her and do nothing to prevent her execution you stupid jackass!" Byakuya suddenly lugged backwards, his feet digging on the remains of the ground, "Pathetic" was all he said, he ate those words later when a ball of fire impacted him on the stomach, causing him to fall backwards and roll backwards, the force behind the ball was enough to force him use Senbonzakura as a means to stop himself of going backwards further.

"Brothers are meant to protect their siblings, not to condemn them!" Byakuya had little time to raise his zanpakutou to defend himself of the brutal attack of Ichigo and his dual blades, metal grinded against metal, Senbonzakura grunted in pain as Ignis slowly dug itself on the steel of its material form, in a deadlock, Ichigo reared his head back, and slammed it on Byakuya's own, the head of the Kuchiki clan grunted in pain after such a low blow he mentally mussed, then he found himself flying in the air and crashing on the floor upon falling, he then realized that Ichigo had pushed him away when he was stunned by the head-butt.

Rolling of his falling position, Byakuya saw how a geyser of magma emerged of the spot he once occupied, worse even was how several tentacles of lava emerged and lashed at him, Karin and Yuzu gaped when they saw Byakuya basically vanish of one spot, the to appear in another in less than a blink.

"_He's fast…way too fast" _both girls though, seeing how the captain harmlessly moved out of the way of the magma tentacles…

"GAAAAHHHH!" only to scream in pain when a magma tentacle melted its way behind him, and lashed him on the ribs, burning his clothes and part of his skin upon impact.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Byakuya, more explicitly, his wound, "Karin, Yuzu, you see the spot where he got hit?" both girls nodded, "Every shinigami can gather spiritual energy, their fuel to most of their techniques, into their bodies, hardening their skin to sustain even more nasty blows, like he did" Ichigo said to his two sisters, both girls gazed at the reddened skin of Byakuya, instead of boiled and burned skin and muscle the skin was irritated, while the rest of his clothes on that part were burned away.

"You can do that too?" Karin asked, "No…I'm just impervious to pain" Ichigo confessed, "Then let us test that theory…Scatter" Byakuya said, Ichigo eyes widened, seeing the tell signs on a possible zanpakutou release.

"Senbonzakura" the blade of Byakuya shattered in what seemed thousand of sakura petals, like if the blade itself was made of sakura petals, leaving just the hilt behind, "Karin! Yuzu behind me now!" Ichigo commanded, both girls did as told as a bunch of those petals nearly hit them.

"Byakuya you bastard!" Ichigo snarled, launching a telekinetic blast at Byakuya, to his surprise a wall of sakura petals blocked the attack, but Byakuya noted that his defense nearly gave in after such attack.

"_That's telekinesis…not even hollows like adjuchas have that skill" _Byakuya sneered at that, the boy had proven to be quite a problem, his mere presence had put a disturbance in the all life of Seireitei itself, shinigami around him fell like flies, he had been insulted by the sotaichou for the failure of killing the Rayearth when he was in his weakest moment, that boy was the reason of so many things happening currently, he was angry, very angry, this boy was the reason his clan's noble name was smeared, the reason Rukia was about to be executed, he had broken at least half of the laws on Soul Society, and that was saying much considering this boy was a mortal.

The very existence of Ichigo was an insult to Soul Society, to the shinigami, to all, an insult to his clan itself, and he would make sure to restore such honor.

Byakuya rolled away as several zanpakutous almost impale him, almost, honed reflexes by years of training an combat allowed him to move faster than any ordinary shinigami and to be always one step ahead of any underhanded…

"Gah!" Byakuya's hands rose to his neck, trying to pry an invisible hand constricting it, but found none, his eyes locked with Ichigo's, his left hand raised at him, holding Ignis and three fingers aimed at him while holding the strange red blade, there he realized that the zanpakutous launched at him were just a distraction to hit him with an invisible attack that had no way to be countered at all.

"You think you all big and all that because you are a shinigami and a noble…and for that stupid pride you put Rukia in death row, so guess what, I'm going to be doing something you should have done the past days, help her of the mess she is now!" Ichigo snapped, impaling Zangetsu on the ground then raising his right hand, free of any blade, then pointed two fingers at him, to Byakuya's shock and utter terror, a cero was formed on the fingertips of the boy, while he could sense the cero lacked the usual kick most ceros had, this one was surely going to be a bitch to endure, he knew it.

"You guys surely are shocked when you seem someone using a hollow technique, I don't see what's the problem? Is just spiritual energy gathered and released, I bet any shinigami could do it…but since you hold a great taboo at anything hollow related" Ichigo trailed off, letting the cero die on his fingertips, but as the spiritual condensed ball of doom died out, a fireball of doom gathered on his fingertips instead.

"If you recover consciousness after this, then I got a message for that sotaichou guy I want you to deliver" Ichigo began, "He messed with the family of the bull, he better be prepared for the horns" Ichigo then raised his hand, but Byakuya knew that whatever he had planned, it was aimed at him, no matter how it was fired, "Pluvia Incendia!" Ichigo bellowed, the fireball fired of his fingertips ascended fast, and not arching, until it reached a position above Byakuya.

The noble eyes widened when he saw the small fireball explode into a rain of blue fireballs the size of his head, the worse of it, all were homing at him, he wiled Senbonzakura to form a shield to stop the fireballs, but all that was for naught as the sakura petals shield was burned by the blue balls, in a last act Byakuya formed a sakura petals shield around him.

**BOOM!**

But that seemed all for naught the girls noticed as the blue rain of fire basically leveled the spot Byakuya stood once, dust and blue flames stood alongside with pieces of the ground, and once the dust settled, they could only see an unconscious captain, several sakura petals slowly gathering to form a blade, indicating that the captain was really out of lights and combat.

Ichigo kept his gaze on the downed form of Byakuya, this battle had been easy, way too easy, maybe because he had the element of surprise on his side, Byakuya didn't knew about his telekinetic abilities, and surely had been hit by his reiatsu/telekinetic blast like the others, weakening him, and unlike the other captains, he hardened his body with spiritual energy to withstand the blast enough to not end unconscious.

"This guy is dangerous" Ichigo concluded, his sisters behind him, sheathing Zangetsu on his back, but keeping Ignis around, just for precaution, Zangetsu might not be able to cut a hardened shinigami skin, but Ignis seemed capable of that easily.

He could feel Zangetsu slight annoyance at Ichigo's preference of Ignis, _"Relax old man, is just for the moment, I need a free hand for Karin and Yuzu, on combat I'll use you"_ that seemed to mellow Zangetsu, a little, but enough to not whine.

"_I do not whine"_

"_**Yes you do"**_

"_You only have spend less than thirty minutes here, you don't know me"_

"_**That's what you think"**_

Ichigo sighed in slight annoyance; he could see discussions like that between Zangetsu and his hollow side in the possible future.

"Okay girls, let's go" Ichigo said slightly running, Karin and Yuzu looked around first, seeing if another shinigami dared to stand up, seeing that no one did as so, followed their brother in his rush, finding out that their new shinigami bodies and powers would allow them to run faster than before, something Karin relished greatly as she pushed herself beyond she had done herself before, and caught up with Ichigo slight run effort, soon Yuzu had caught up with them as well, and together left the devastated scenario, never noticing that two captains were missing on the head count.

It would be five minutes after their escape that Retsu, along with a squadron of her division would arrive to see the aftermath of pissing off the Rayearth of fire.

"…Is like Yamamoto-sotaichou doesn't learns of his mistakes…anger a knight and you are bound to be stamped to the ground…oh well"

* * *

"_There is no mistaking; this is the handy work of a knight"_

Up above the destroyed courtyard, beyond the eyes and senses of those below him, the man observed with caution, because that was what he did always, he would always scout his pretty to capture, assets the power of his prey, know its weakness, and use it without remorse.

Track, Observe, strike, those were the rules he was taught in order to hunt and defeat a prey, to always succeed, the revenant had been quite an easy prey, in fact the creature was weak in ways he still couldn't comprehend, why his lord would create such a weak being, but Eurania seemed to know something he didn't knew, she wanted the revenant, for what purpose he didn't knew, his purpose was not to question, but to acquire, and his objective was the knight of fire, that was the Queen's command.

Considering he was serving both the lord of darkness and the Queen of Crystalia, many would wonder where his true allegiances lie, to be honest; his allegiance lied with both, after all both wanted the same, and offered the same to him, power.

They wanted the knights, he didn't knew if the others were successful in fact, the order of the wind has always been…wayward, especially the two send to capture the knight of wind, the water monks have always been a thorn on his side, and he didn't trusted the two monks send to that paranormal world to capture the knight of water, as for him and Eurania, just an elf priest that tarnished her community and one of the last pretor, great hunters of Crystalia that fell of grace and caused destruction without concern.

Faeron stared at the damage the knight did around, and that was just because they used his family as lures, that was a stupid move, he as a pretor would not have used such a obvious lure, it was bellow him, besides he was talking here of a Rayearth knight, a normal person would have succumbed to any bidding a captor would impose if they had their familiars, a Rayearth knight was another thing entirely, the captor would be lucky to be found in one piece, trifling with a knight was a risky business, they were better captured when they just got their powers, the sad thing he and the other send to capture the knight seem to face was that the knights were already grown in power, at least in mid-path, with two or three of the five trials completed, in half evolution.

This knight however, had only completed one, this gave him a slight edge, slight considering that this knight had powers beyond the average mortal, suffice to say that no knight before him had extra powers besides their Rayearth ones, this was…a twist, something that made him more of a wild card.

"_I need to capture him before he completes another trial"_ was his thoughts as he moved swiftly and silently of the spot he once occupied, directing himself to the direction the knight of fire had went with his sisters.

He had to attack him when he was most vulnerable, he had to, he could not fail.

* * *

Ichigo kept his pace easily, and so his sisters, he was amazed how easily his sisters caught the use or spiritual energy, even if a little to move, Yuzu seemed the more adept to that, figure that out, he believed Karin would get that faster, but he seemed to be proven wrong this time.

The siblings kept their advance around the maze of tower made halls, the term 'concrete jungle' never has been more aptly used like in this moment, Ichigo had to give it to the shinigami, they made some impressive structures, surely to make for the lack of common sense, Soul Society was all but a paradise as Rukia once described him, considering that society was divided into two big social rings, and the normal souls seemed to mistrusts the shinigami to some degree, it spoke monuments of the abuse of power the shinigami sometimes handled, coupled that with how stuck up the so called nobles were and the brutal way shinigami were judged no matter how insignificant the offense was, he would choose his own world over anything Soul Society had to offer, including food.

Ichigo stopped slightly, allowing his sisters to catch some breath, or just to see them, to be sure they were behind him, he was surprised to see them adapt fast at their new bodies, it was…disturbing, but well, Rukia always told him that women do grow up faster than men…but there is an exception to the rule and the vertically challenged and not feminine looking Rukia Kuchiki was proof of it, from behind she could be easily confused by a guy.

Even with his sea of spiritual energy, he could feel their energy, albeit hardly, and if he focused hard enough, the same with the others, if he focused hard enough he could sense spiritual energy, unlike his flame sense, and right now, much to his relieve, he could feel the spiritual energy of his friends, they were separated of course, but all were converging to one spot, the tower.

"_They know where Rukia is being held, good"_ he thought, half of the problem he believed was to regroup with his friends, now that they were coming, all he needed to do was to wait, of course he couldn't wait much, it would be a mistake to wait knowing that Rukia has her time counted.

Ichigo kept his gaze around the area, doing sporadic scans and sweeps with his eyes and with his other senses, to make sure they weren't walking to another ambush.

"I guess all is fine" Karin muttered, "We are on hostile lands Karin" Ichigo began, "We should remain alert"

"Ichi-nii is right Karin-chan…this place gives me the boogies" Yuzu muttered.

"This place gives you the creeps? Then I don't recommend you Hueco Mundo as a vacation spot" the Kurosakis tensed up instantly, Ichigo and Karin instantly rose their zanpakutous to bear, but Yuzu hesitated, only touching the grip of her own zanpakutou.

Ichigo turned violently, his eyes narrowed at the woman that landed behind them, all of her screamed shinigami…well considering that her robes were made more for a kid rather than a woman of her figure, the uniform did little to hide her legs and arms, only covering, if barely her torso, long pink hair that reached to her calves, and her dark pink eyes stared at him, nearly burying a hole on his own.

He blinked once, and he swore that the woman's clothes were replaced by a red and gold armor, a gold tiara that also had a red visor covering her eyes slightly, giving her an intimidating aura.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, the vision of the armored woman disappearing as soon as he blinked, replaced by the woman on robes before him.

"Someone who needs to see you confront your demons" she said, Ichigo's eyes widened comically as her hand blurred, and easily found its way on his chest, yet blood was not shot of his chest, he blinked once…

And the next moment he was looking at his mindscape, the tall buildings with the impossible sky, looking around his eyes fell on Fira, sitting Indian style and Zangetsu, standing on a flagpole; there Ichigo realized that he was standing vertically on one of the buildings.

"Old man, Fira…what's going on?" Ichigo asked, eyeing at both entities that so far had guided him on his fights.

"You're here to be tested" Zangetsu replied, making Ichigo raise an eyebrow, "Tested?"

"**Yeah…consider this as a taste of things to come" **Fira explained with a smile, Ichigo there saw that Fira held Ignis on her hands, and Zangetsu held his blade form on his.

"…Why are you two holding those blades?" Ichigo asked.

"**Because only one can hold those blades king" **Ichigo tensed up, turning around he whipped his hand to whatever that was behind him, seeing only a white blur vanish of that spot, then he heard the sound of metal on the air, near him, turning around again, he saw Zangetsu and Fira throw the blades to the air, Ichigo reacted almost immediately and grabbed Ignis, which was closer, while the white blur seemed to catch Zangetsu in mid-air, when it landed he could see what the white blur was in fact.

A carbon copy of himself, to the last detail, only this carbon copy had white robes instead of black ones, his skin was white bone colored and so the hair, the sclera on the eyes was pitch black, and the irises yellow colored, what disturbed Ichigo the most was the toothy smirk, showing black teeth.

"**So king…surprised to see me?"**

Ichigo simply narrowed his eyes, bringing Ignis to bear, "I highly doubt I'm here just for a chat, so stop acting like you are here for that and fight" Ichigo snapped, it didn't take a genius to know that his hollow wanted to fight, why he didn't knew, maybe in the fight he would find out. But he knew something, he could not loose.

"**Well king…THAT'S WHAT I WAS EXPECTING!" **and with a roar Hollow Ichigo launched at Ichigo, both swung their blades, and the inner world of Ichigo was filled with the sound of metal clashing against metal and grinding against one another.

All while Zangetsu and Fira observed this, vigilant.

* * *

_and there you have it people, another chapter gone, now i know most of you will ask me why i gave the sisters powers? well i read a lot of stories where either Karin or Yuzu got shinigami powers, either because they grew mature and Seirteitei saw the sisters of ichigo as assests like their brother, or for some freaky accident like ichigo's, but what i did had a reason, and such reasonw ill be exposed once the next chapters come, trust me._

_as for the short batle between ichigo and byakuya, well don't think that's it, byakuya got caught off guard and paid the price, but their fight is far from over, trust me on that, now as usual a preview of the next chapter, enjoy!_

* * *

**The soul is composed of two sides...**

******"Come on king, i'm not even trying!"**

**Is a balance on the universe, light and darkness...**

"I doubt you're trying, i barely felt that cut"

**Two sides of the same power, to form a whole, a balance...**

"Move aside children, my interest is only your brother the inferno"

**The soul is a complex thing, just one thing is certain...**

"You want our brother? then come and get it! Yuzu! fight!"

**No one can't deny it's existence, power and importance...**

"Yamamoto...why you kidnapped my daughters?"

**In the next chapter of Rayearth Knights of Ichigo the Inferno: duel of the souls...**

"Defend, Engetsu!"

**Their fight shall shatter the walls and shake the worlds...**

* * *

_till a next time people, Hypn0s sings off, read, review and enjoy, happy reading!_


	10. 9: Duel of Souls

_Hello fellow readers, I am back, Hypn0s returns after finding his muse for this history and adding some very kickass fights, the next chapter of Ichigo the Inferno is done baby, and as i promised, this one will have one hell of a surprise for those who have been wondering who is going to the main character on the next rayearth saga, to those who voted i thank you for that, it was their votes that allowed me to decide between three possible candidates to the role of the princess and rayearth of earth, truth to be told i selected them mostly because of their royal ties in the manga, anime and cartoons, we all know the royal ties of Sakura in the other publications of CLAMP and mangas, Flora of Winx Club, like the rest of the girls is a princess in some sort, and like Cornelia they had both connections to the earth element, even more than Sakura, i won't spoil now who won, you will have to either read this chapter or check my profile and see who won, you will see the stats of how many people voted, and trust me people, i was suprised on who people placed their votes._

_now without any delay, i give you yet another chapter of ichigo the Inferno, enjoy!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 9: DUEL OF THE SOULS**

Momo kept staring at Gin, the captain of the 3rd division by his part kept that fox like smile that suited well a kid, but not a grown-up like him, his clothes sported several damaged spots, his haori was completely made out of rags, simple as that, it was obvious he had been among those many who tried to stop the knight of fire just minutes ago, and now were on the rather long list of wounded by his part.

"_Momo-chan, I don't like the way he is looking at us" _Momo agreed with Tobuime, she had never been wrong when judging a person at first glance, Gin at the moment seemed to be staring at a hollow rather than a comrade, and that made her tense greatly, that was not normal, hell so far the days ever since the knight of fire made act of presence had not been normal.

"Your captain wants to see you" Gin said simply, his smile never leaving his face, if she was tense before, now she was like a mouse trap, deadly if the trap was sprung.

With a nod Momo began to follow Gin to whatever the hell he was taking her, there were as lot of questions that needed answers.

And it seemed Aizen held answers to many of them.

* * *

"GGAAAAAHHHHHH!"

**CLANK!**

"UUUUUFFFFF!"

"YUZU!"

Never in her life, had Karin Kurosaki felt so angry, mad and impotent at the sight of her fallen brother, before he had look so strong, so invincible, so unstoppable, now he lay on his back, Ignis gripped on his left hand, Zangetsu on his right hand, unconscious, while the person responsible for it just swatted Yuzu angry charge like if it was a fly.

The pink haired woman had changed the moment she struck Ichigo, Karin mussed, instead of a woman every man would lust for her, now stood a teenager, while her robes still were too small for her frame, now they covered more flesh, which was good, but it seemed that her skills were not diminished, even more, she carried her own sword as well, but while the sheath had two wheels on the bottom were still a mystery to her.

Any train of thoughts died when Yuzu stood up and charged again at the pink haired teenager, Karin had never seen Yuzu so angry, truth to be told she had never seen her so angry in her life, Yuzu always carry a happy face, or a worried one, acting as a mother hen in the Kurosaki household, this was the first time she has ever seen Yuzu angry, ever.

With a snarl, Yuzu pulled her zanpakutou, the short blade seemed to fit her perfectly, and the pink haired teenager frowned at that.

"You draw your zanpakutou against me…then you better be ready to fight for your life" the pink haired teenager said, pulling her own zanpakutou out, flicking the blade several times, then setting herself on a combat stance.

"Just because you are the sisters of the Rayearth of fire don't expect any kind of mercy, I in fact expect you to fight all out!" with that the teenager jumped at Yuzu, Karin cursed as she unsheathed her own zanpakutou and swung it at the teenager at the same time as Yuzu.

Both girls swung it to the air, not seeing the pink haired girl anywhere, both girls tensed up when they heard something behind them.

"…You were slow" was all they heard as their world erupted in pain and darkness.

Yachiru turned around, seeing both sisters collapse to the ground, deep gashes on their bodies that oozed blood, their zanpakutous dented, but still in one piece, there she frowned at that.

"_Those two…they must have better control over their spiritual energy and pressure to create such solid zanpakutous, I swung my own hard enough to snap any other zanpakutou of an unseated shinigami…maybe…" _Yachiru thought, sheathing her zanpakutou, she walked to the downed sisters, and with a flick of her wrists, both of her hands were buried on their chests, both unconscious girls gasped, then returned to the land of unconsciousness once more.

Yachiru for her part returned to her original size and age, a pout on her face, she had just enjoyed five minutes of adulthood, "Well…easy comes easy goes" she muttered, then brightened up, "Maybe ken-chan is awake, Ichi will be strong! Strong enough to play with ken-chan, yes! Ken-chan will be very happy I helped!" she said with a vigorous nod of her head, skipping away, just to stop in mid-air, and pull her zanpakutou, an annoyed look on her face.

"Shred apart! Shiyamu!" both her petit hands were engulfed in pink light and everything that was in front of her once she swung both her hands was shred into tiny fine slices, and pushed away violently.

Yachiru hissed like a cat, her pupils like slits, her message made and received, she sheathed her zanpakutou and flickered away.

Down in the ruins of what used to be a wall and a tower, Faeron removed himself of the rubble, a sneer on his face, he, like anyone of his people would recognize that shade of pink hair, those pink eyes, that taunting smile…that cat like hiss.

"Yachiru-ha Aramada…that bitch reincarnated" he snarled, his left arm ready to brush his hair, it is then that he realizes he is missing something, looking at his left arm, he sees is sliced off of his bicep cleanly, neon purple blood pouring out.

His yellow eyes narrowed at the sight of his severed limb, looking around, the dark dressed man spotted his arm, an arm with a hand with four fingers that had a set of vicious looking nails, the visible skin was reptilian in appearance and in touch, and there was his arm.

Grabbing it, Faeron narrowed his eyes at the extend of the damage of his arm, the bitch had made herself sure that re-implantation of the arm was to be as painful as mortally possible.

Faeron growled, knowing that what he was about to do would delay him two hours, two damn hours his targets could use to recover, get away of him, erase their traces and hide.

"By my ancestors, that bitch even reincarnated is a pain to my people" he snarled, sitting on the ground cross legged, placing his severed arm on the ground, and pulling a vial of his belt, one that contained a green liquid, opening the vial, he poured its contents on his severed arm wound, seeing how the flesh began to hiss upon contact, then he took five deep breaths and rammed his arm to his stump.

The scream that came out of his mouth scared every shinigami of the 4th division.

* * *

Zangetsu didn't knew what to call Fira, she seemed like a zanpakutou spirit, but she was in essence different, he knew that, a spirit that far surpassed him and the hollow persona of Ichigo, he could feel a mesh of identities in her, from a serious one to a bashful, humor loving to grumpy, to a not worried one to a serious one, he had also noted one thing in particular.

Fira's eyes had begun to change in color, it seemed to be a slow process, but he noted how her red fire eyes began to change to a brown colored one, like the ones of Ichigo's.

Shifting his eyes to the dueling pair, he could see that Ichigo's eyes were glowing blue in his sclera and red fire on his irises, it was an interesting change, something was happening to Ichigo and Fira, of that he was certain.

"**In case you're wondering I'm starting to share" **Fira said to Zangetsu, the zanpakutou raised an eyebrow at her, his brown eyes scanning her trough his tinted stylish glasses, "Share?"

"**A Guardian and a knight are in essence bonded, and so the other knights, Ichigo is showing the first stages of the share, each knight becomes bonded in a way, sharing feelings, ichigito right now is showing the traits that make the knight of wind so unpredictable, along with the sharp mouth of the knight of water, sooner he will start showing the traits of our esteemed Princess Sakura" **Zangetsu narrowed his eyes at that.

"**You worry too much you old goat, his soul will remain untouched, that what created you will remain, it would be greatly stupid to tamper with a soul, ichigito will only change in personality, nothing else, his soul shall remain the same, and so will you…of course I would lie if I told you this place could use some redecoration, perhaps a wooden house with a small patch of flowers"**

"…that would be nice"

With that Zangetsu and Fira observed the fight in front of them.

Sparks flew of both blades as Ichigo and his anti-thesis kept dueling, Zangetsu and Ignis locked in a stalemate as both beings tried to bring down the other, Ichigo grinded his teeth at the realization that hollow Ichigo was as physically strong as him, surely a side-effect of a inner hollow formed out of a Rayearth/shinigami.

"You're strong"

"**You're not slouch yourself king, this just makes it even better!" **hollow Ichigo exclaimed with a gleeful look on his bone colored face, Ichigo made a face, "Dammit get a toothbrush, those teeth can't be natural black" Ichigo then blinked, and so his hollow persona, "Okay…where the hell that came from?"

"**Don't know…but damn I'm pissed!" **hollow Ichigo snapped, an awful spiritual pressure fell over the area, windows imploding outwards and creating a shower of the likeness of stardust.

"**Ooohhh so pretty…damn princess Sakura and her girly nature!"** Zangetsu just rose and amused eyebrow, really wondering how this 'princess Sakura' really was, and how her 'girly nature' would affect Ichigo.

One thing was certain; there wouldn't be a dark cloud on his skies for a long time.

**BOOM!**

Hollow Ichigo snarled as he drove his feet to the relative ground that was the building body, stopping himself from continuing backwards after that vicious blow he barely deflected, this battle was not exactly going as he had expected hell most of the things that were currently happening were not even suppose to happen.

While he got some sick muscle and a improved sky scenery out of the deal of Ichigo becoming a knight, other things weren't so good, being mauled and eaten by a Nemesis was on top of his 'I'm piss at this deal' list, then followed by the ability of Ichigo to breathe fire and shoot ceros, hell he even knew that shinigami couldn't fire ceros not even if their lives depended on it, also the fact that Ichigo was different, way different.

He might have lasted a minute alive against the Nemesis, but that was enough to get a template of the old Ichigo, and compared to the one fighting him it was different, while the former Ichigo would have frozen against a strong opponent like last time, this one didn't even bathed an eyelash if the soul king itself bitchslapped him, instead he would surely ask 'is that it?'

Also there was this sharp tongue thing, the old Ichigo usually held his tongue, only to talk to draw his enemies angry, the current one enjoyed trash talking his enemies, taunting them, bringing down their ideals like a house of cards, furthermore this one seemed to smile more often, which the other one didn't do often, add that with the unpredictability of his attacks combining long-range attacks with close-quarter assaults, this trash talking taunting Ichigo was far more dangerous than his other self, even more because this one seemed to be driven by a force that didn't wavered against nothing, he doubted his speech of instincts and matching him blow by blow would shock him, hell he was worried all that would give him more fuel to fight on.

His musings were cut short when a beam of flames traveled to him at great speed, cursing he flicked Zangetsu at the flames, blocking the oddly solid beam of flames, pushing him back slightly, with a roar he swung the cleaver upwards, dividing the flames and making the divided pieces to sail harmlessly at his sides and crash behind him, there upon impact both flames beams made a chunk of a building blow into rubble.

"**Not bad king…MY TURN!"** with a gleeful look Hollow Ichigo rose his free hand, palm opened and pointed at Ichigo, immediately a cero formed on his palm and then fired it when he saw Ichigo neatly lined up for a kill.

The cero flew at great speed, only to meet Ichigo's extended palm, much to the shock of Hollow Ichigo.

As the cero died Ichigo let out a stream of purple flames out of his mouth, Hollow Ichigo just jumped away, seeing how the flames burned the ground and left a path of crystal in its wake, hollow Ichigo answered that by flicking Zangetsu up, reiatsu pouring on the blade.

"Pluvia Incendia!" not liking what he saw Hollow Ichigo prepare to him, Ichigo decided to cut loose his strongest attacks, his flame attack sailed sure over the stationary Hollow…

"**You don't have what it takes king, you lack instinct"** Hollow Ichigo informed to Ichigo, then swung the zanpakutou down, letting out a pure reiatsu arc of energy that resembled a crescent moon shape just as Pluvia Incendia impacted Hollow Ichigo.

Ichigo rose Ignis to block the incoming attack, much to his shock the crescent reiatsu beam began to push him back, Ichigo dug his feet on the ground, anchoring himself to stop himself, with a roar and using his already inhuman strength he swung Ignis and deflected the reiatsu attack, seeing how this one impacted on a nearby building and blowing a chunk out easily.

Ichigo stared at the impact point, narrowing his eyes, "I lack instinct the little hypocrite, that attack didn't came with an intention to kill" Ichigo mumbled with a scowl, then frowned.

"_What is wrong with me? That attack was meant to kill me yet I felt unaffected by it…"_ Ichigo mental musings were cut short when he turned to stare at the spot his hollow self was, only to see his hollow self dust himself with a scowl on his face.

"**That wasn't nice king"**

"It wasn't supposed to be nice" Ichigo answered, flicking Ignis slightly, the metal wrap attached to the hilt of his sword wrapping around his arm.

"**You are different king" **his hollow declared, "Is that so?" Ichigo asked.

"**Yeah…your eyes…they were once weak looking…you would slightly panic against a stronger foe…but now…oh but now they are strong, you are actually stronger than before, so different than before…IT MAKES IT ALL BETTER!"**hollow Ichigo clacked in glee as he swung Zangetsu around, finally setting it over his shoulder.

"**This feeling…is amazing…I have been waiting, longing for this!" **Hollow Ichigo declared with an almost crazy smile, Ichigo there realized why he stopped smiling, besides the death of his mother of course; he looks kinda disturbing with a smile on.

"**Oh…I'm going to enjoy this!" **With that hollow Ichigo shot at Ichigo, Ichigo had just barely time to raise Ignis to block the wild strikes of Hollow Ichigo, there he noted two things, one was how insanely strong he was, just like he was currently, so in terms of strength they were matched with no way of overpowering the other on a struggle.

The second was how wild his hollow side fought, like a berserker, wielding his zanpakutou like crazy, while the hits had his brutal strength behind them, they lacked finesse, his hollow was just swinging Zangetsu like a maniac, hoping to get a hit, overpower his opponent with a relentless assault, to wear him down and then go for the kill.

Ichigo wouldn't fall for this trick, he was not a creature driven by the sole instinct of kill and level everything on his path, he had already a plan.

Ichigo began to deflect each blow at the best of his capabilities, fighting Urahara with his shikai unleashed was a good idea after all, comparing Urahara to hollow Ichigo battle style it was obvious that Urahara could defeat hollow Ichigo easily.

Soon Ichigo began to retaliate blows, hollow Ichigo showed himself surprised when Ichigo began to trade blows, but then grinded, this made it even better, the clash of two superpowers, blades crashing without any regard whatsoever for the welfare of the wielders, only one would win.

To anyone observing they would only see a blur on what suppose was their arms, moving a great speed, the only evidence of their clash was sparks flying around, the sound of metal clashing on metal and the deep gashes on the ground.

Soon Ichigo made a mistake, lunging with Ignis to stab hollow Ichigo, this one took the change, took several steps back then brought Zangetsu upwards in a kendo move along with Ignis, effectively disarming Ichigo of his Rayearth blade, just as he expected.

With a war cry Ichigo shot at hollow Ichigo, that one seeing his mistake too late, he let himself open to a counter, Ichigo capitalized on this by slamming his fist on Hollow Ichigo's face, hollow Ichigo surprise was visible, even more when he brought Zangetsu down, attempting to cut down Ichigo, but he was unable to do so when Ichigo blocked the blow with his left hand, the ground under him groaning after such impact, but Ichigo didn't relent or relented on his attack.

Hollow Ichigo head shot to several directions every time Ichigo right fist crashed on his face in different directions, making him groan in pain and dizziness for the act, then he lurched forward when Ichigo slammed his left knee on his stomach, making his gasp in pain, then he glared angrily at his counterpart, a snarl worth of a devil on his face.

"**You little shit!" **hollow Ichigo exclaimed taking two steps back then shooting towards Ichigo, Zangetsu aimed to stab Ichigo, Ichigo just sidestepped a little of the trajectory of Zangetsu, then grabbed hollow Ichigo's arm on a vice grip and flipped him over his shoulder, the impact coupled with the strength behind the flip made the building/ground to groan after such blow.

Ichigo by his part was not finished with hollow Ichigo; with a kick he disarmed hollow Ichigo of Zangetsu and then lifted his arms, purple energy around them for an instant, then brought them downwards aimed at his hollow self.

**BAMM!**

The building was unable to withstand the massive telekinetic blow that fell over its frame and hollow Ichigo, splitting in half in a shower of rubble, dust and glass, out of the rubble the still conscious hollow Ichigo glared where Ichigo was last time, and then smirked.

It was so much fun.

Crashing on a nearby building, hollow Ichigo had little time to outright laugh in joy as he had to roll away when a barrage of fireballs impacted where he was before, looking at the inferno that descended and then at the descending Ichigo, landing in the middle of the inferno he had created…

"**Yes…**" hollow Ichigo hissed, **"Every king needs a nickname…something that strikes fear on his enemies…or I'm mistaken?" **Ichigo just stared at his counterpart with a scowl.

"**ICHIGO THE INFERNO!"** and with that hollow Ichigo launched himself at Ichigo, without a weapon, just his fists and perhaps a cero or two, Ichigo did the same, both clashing and making the building under them to collapse against such violent clash.

On their lookout point, Fira smirked at the declaration of hollow Ichigo, **"Naruto the Maelstrom…Danny the Tsunami…Ichigo the Inferno…it has a nice ring in it"**

Ichigo began to block punches and kicks of his hollow part, once he saw and opening he began to counter, kicks and punches flew as both Ichigo and his hollow tried to beat the crap of each other, each blow was followed by either a telekinetic burst by Ichigo or either by a reiatsu enhanced blow by hollow Ichigo.

Ichigo suddenly saw an opening, blocking a straight of Hollow Ichigo with his right arm, his left fist sailed freely to Hollow Ichigo's chest, much to his surprise his fist sailed through a newly formed hole on the chest of Hollow Ichigo.

"**Tch…looks like my time is up"** hollow Ichigo exclaimed with a sneer on his face, the hole expanding, **"Make no mistake king, this isn't over, it's never going to be over, we will fight again…and I will get the crown to myself"**

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo said with his own scowl, rearing his head back, he locked eyes with his other persona, "Well here's your crown!" then he rammed his forehead on the forehead of the disappearing hollow, hearing with satisfaction a crack of bones, then his vision grew white bright as hollow Ichigo vanished with a shocked look.

He never noticed the smirk of satisfaction of Fira, the slight proud look of Zangetsu, or the change on Ignis.

* * *

Zaraki Kenpachi is not the kind of guy who waits idle for things to happen, he is a man of action, he is proactive and can't stand in a same place for more than an minute, expection being the time he has to place his bells on his hair but that's another story.

The little stun of Yachiru had him a little mad, but as she had explained to him once he recovered consciousness and he had praised her and scolded her for the strong yet sneaky punch, she had been working on making Ichigo stronger, now is a known fact that sometimes is poked fun off that Kenpachi loves fights, he loves to fight and to fight strong opponents, opponents that actually can put a fight, that can wound him, that fight him head on without fear, he loved to fight, it is a requisite to become captain of the 11th division and of course there is a reason he is called Kenpachi.

But he is not too fond of walking slowly, hell he hates it, is not on him to walk slow, or talk slow, or take things slowly, is just not right for him, it makes him feel odd.

But alas he had to; Yachiru had been very adamant about that, meaning she pouted and when the pout didn't worked, she cried waterfalls and wailed like if a cat was being used to play a violin.

So there he was, walking slowly like a snail in his point of view, waiting until 'the sign' Yachiru spoke made itself present, then he could rush head in to the fight without any remorse, "Sign, sign my ass, there is no sign, I'm starting to believe puberty is finally messing with her brain" he muttered, why Yachiru couldn't remain as a small little cute girl for an extra pair of decades, it was much to ask for her to not reach puberty?

Then he came across with a sight that made his day, or sort off, he finally found the Rayearth that also was Isshin's son and his two sisters, all unconscious, well it was a shame they were unconscious, that mean he had to wait until they regain consciousness and then he could fight them, it is a solid plan.

Well it was a solid plan until Ichigo suddenly opened his eyes and stared at him, a violent telekinetic blast him straight on, sending him crashing on several buildings, stopping on the tenth and such building collapsing over him.

Ichigo slowly shook his head, waking up with a scary face as his first sight was starting to annoy him, true he could have yelled and let fire out of his mouth, but a telekinetic blast seemed more straight-forward and did more damage in the long run.

Standing up Ichigo reached for both Zangetsu and Ignis, there he noticed that Ignis had once again changed, the once curved cleaver was not a straight blade, to sharp tip, instead the tip of the blade was circularly shaped, Ichigo barely noted the very small gaps between the cutting edges of the blade, like something was stored in them, yet the sword was still as long as Zangetsu, only the blade form had changed, nothing else.

"This thing changes more than the weather" he muttered as he slung Zangetsu and let Ignis vanish, then approached to his two fallen sisters, noting that both girls must have been struck by the pink haired woman as well in the same fashion as he was struck which could be either good or bad, he didn't actually believed that both of them were ready to meet their zanpakutou spirits, and if he had a say in it they would never meet them.

"Ugh" Ichigo eyes snapped to one of his waking sisters once he heard that noise, as usual Karin always woke first than Yuzu, no one knew why that happened, maybe because Karin was more active than Yuzu in a sense, she spends most of her time either beating their dad for being a moron or playing soccer, unlike Yuzu whose time is divided in studying, keeping the house from burning and trying to stop Karin of permanently maiming their dad.

"Ichigo…" Karin moaned as she sat up, clutching her head in pain, "Let me guess, the pink haired girl shoved her hand like a knife on your chests?" Karin nodded, "But she became a teenager Ichigo, once she did that to you she…well she lost some age" Karin confessed, "Odd…so what happened?" there Karin took a thoughtful look.

"I spend a lot of time on a soccer field playing a one vs. one soccer game with a teenager clad in what seemed bear fur and had some weights on her arms and legs, the only reason I knew it was a she it was because of her voice…and I even got her name…Ninau…why her name means bear a burden?" Karin said with a slight smile, there Ichigo's eye twitched, one because he had to nearly turn into a hollow and fight Urahara to learn Zangetsu's name, and second because Karin, with just barely an hour of becoming shinigami had learned the name of her zanpakutou, that is just so unfair.

"Mmm" Ichigo and Karin saw how Yuzu slowly groaned into consciousness, blinked once, then focused on them both, smiling gently, "Ichi-nii, Karin-chan…" she said as she slowly crawled to them and hugged them, "I'm so glad you're both okay" she whispered, both siblings were not surprised by her show of care, in fact they would be worried if she didn't acted as usual and hugged them at least once every two hours.

"I had this wonderful dream…I flew the skies on top of a falcon, it was great, and he was so much fun to talk to" she commented, making Ichigo sight in satisfaction, at least she didn't mention her zanpakutou name…

"Oh Ichi-nii, Soratobu says hi" Ichigo there skulked, his two sisters knew the names of their zanpakutous, any hope he had of keeping his sisters away of combat basically died in that moment, hopefully his old man will set his foot on letting both girls fight hollows or train, maybe when both girls are married.

As Yuzu detached herself of her siblings, Ichigo stiffened when the area round them basically was flattened, Karin and Yuzu gasped in pain at the sudden pressure that fell over them, Ichigo seeing this used his body to protect them both, his reiatsu protecting both girls of the oppressive reiatsu that suddenly fell over them.

"Hey Old fart no fair, they are mine, I waited for this chance the guy weeding out the weaklings!" Ichigo looked over his shoulder, seeing how the scary looking man with the impossible looking hair with bells on top and eye patch exclaim, Ichigo followed the line of sight of the sadist looking captain and spotted an old man, a very old man with a very long beard and long eyebrows, bald, with an X shaped scar on his bald head, wearing the usual captain grabs, yet they seemed too big to him to wear, the haori that characterized all captain ranked shinigami was actually hanging over his back, like a cape, all while holding a wooden cane unlike the one of Urahara, it seemed as ancient as him, walking at him with a narrowed gaze at him and him alone, Ichigo noted that the oppressive reiatsu was coming out of him and his cane, like Urahara's cane was in fact a disguise for his zanpakutou.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Ichigo asked to himself, _**"That is our esteemed sotaichou, **__**Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the strongest shinigami around Seireitei, the head of the Gotei 13, the big fish if you want to get technical, over 2000 years old, defeated five times, four against Vasto Lorde and the fifth against the Rayearth of wind Demetia Tyraluca…"**_ Fira said on his mind, suddenly becoming silent for some seconds.

"_**Alone you would defeat him or the other captain, Zaraki Kenpachi"**_

"_So that guy is the one Ikkaku warned me about…Kenpachi"_

"_**Yes Ichigito, if they were alone you would defeat them each other, with some trouble, Kenpachi seems the guy who has no fear or pain receptors, he would charge head on and fight like a berserker, you would win, but with medium to high wounds, Yamamoto is another case, he has over 2000 years of combat experience, he is driven by both duty to Soul Society and his total hate to the knights of Crystalia, he handles fire, your element, that is an advantage, you would take away his most fearsome power, yet it remains painfully apparent he is no pushover, his skill with the blade must be supper, not to say his strength…you would win also, but with very heavy wounds and extreme collateral damage, but both…I doubt it, even more with Karin and Yuzu, his presence alone makes them both choke...unless…"**_

"_Unless what Fira?" _Ichigo asked with a mental raised eyebrow.

"_**It is risky what I suggest, neither Naruto nor Danny has reached this stage of their powers, and they won't reach it until some time, not even princess Sakura has reach her own…but with this two enemies…desperate measures for desperate moments"**_ Fira murmured.

"_But what it is?"_ Ichigo asked with a scowl on.

"_**Limit Ichigito, the closest a Rayearth can get to their full potential without completing the trials and finishing their evolution, five trials Ichigito, you have completed two of the five, the last one recently"**_

"_My fight with my…"_

"_**Yes…you refused to stop fighting him, to let him go and have the last laugh, you refuse to relinquish your soul and body to him without a fight, you fought for your soul and won, you fought your inner demon and the test of soul was passed, two out of five, Naruto passed his own test of soul with his own inner demon, in the most literal sense…nevertheless you need three passed tests, three runes to access limit safely, you, Danny and Naruto already have two, but they are not going to face two overpowered death gods while protecting their sisters"**_

"_Fira…get to the point, the old man is undressing…damn look at all those scars and muscles…how the hell!"_

"_**Okay…against these two you can't win, unless you want to die with them…you need an edge, an edge only limit can grant you, but of course the risks are too great unless you done your hollow mask"**_

"_The mask? What it has to do with all this?"_Ichigo asked.

"_**The mask acts as a shield; it will protect you from the worse wounds possible, including the degradation your body will feel upon activating limit without achieving the third rune, the mask will hold for over two minutes, then you have three more minutes after that to defeat them, your body will feel that brunt of the three minutes, more than enough to defeat them soundly, take your sisters and find a safe place to lay low and recover, trust me on this, limit unlike the full complete form of a knight does drain you greatly"**_

Ichigo digested what Fira had just told him, it was a long shot he believed, but Fira firmly believed he could defeat them both with limit on; the problem was that his sisters were around.

"_**Don't worry about Karin and Yuzu"**_ Fira suddenly materialized and flew to the surprised girls, landing in the middle of the young accidental shinigami, **"You go"** was all Fira said, Ichigo seeing that Fira was going to do the same that she had done with Hanatarou in his fight with Renji nodded and turned to face both shinigami, seeing how Kenpachi reached for his blade and how Yamamoto was engulfed in flames, his zanpakutou equally covered in flames.

"Uh Fira" Ichigo called, "How the hell I go limit on them?" Ichigo asked, **"Oh yeah I knew I was forgetting something…just stand still"** Fira said, opening her beak a small stream of flames that seemed more like a thread emerged of her mouth and hit Ichigo on the base of his neck, immediately a pulse of pure reiatsu emerged out of Ichigo, pushing dust and rocks away, the pulse hit Yamamoto and Kenpachi, Kenpachi had a shit eating grin once that powerful wave hit him, instantly he discarded his eye patch, his monstrous reiatsu being unleashed upon that, all while laughing like mad.

"OH YEAH! NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, GOING ALL OUT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Yamamoto scoffed at Kenpachi's reaction, yet he didn't expected less of him, Zaraki Kenpachi was born to fight, kill, fight and kill and sometimes getting drunk, obviously he would die on a battle surrounded with his dismembered enemies and on a pool of blood, surely his and the one of his enemies, a fitting death Kenpachi and anyone who know him would believe.

"…foolish" Yamamoto whispered, raising Ryūjin Jakka, "Jȏkaku Enjȏ" he said, his flaming blade creating a colossal wall of flames that began to surround Ichigo, then forming a bubble around him.

"I have used this few times, I can either leave an opening so oxygen can be filter to the prisoner, but you…you won't have none of that" Yamamoto seemed to relish in the fact he could control his enemies with that prison and would kill Ichigo in a very horrible way, drowned because he lacked oxygen to breathe.

That thought of control seemed to die the moment the fire bubble collapsed under the inner pressure of a multi colored wall of flames that emerged of inside, followed closely by a telekinetic wave that hit him straight on and made him dig his feet on the ground to prevent him of flying away like a leaf.

As the flames dissipated, Yamamoto could see what had emerged of the flames, and sneered at it, "So…you finally show your face…Rayearth"

The Ichigo that emerged out of the flames was greatly changed, his skin was in fact a thin layer of blue reiatsu that was more like an aura than skin, all that kept a body made of semi solid lava, his clothes were slowly burning, very slowly, his spiky hair was now set aflame, yet keeping the spiky shape, and his face, his face was that made the sotaichou so angry.

"A hollow mask…you dare to step onto our laws even further!" the sotaichou's answer to that proclamation was Ichigo suddenly appearing in front of him and punching him on the stomach, hard, the old shinigami gasped in pain as his whole body was dug into the ground, creating a monumental crater, instantly the masked Rayearth raised Zangetsu, easily stopping a blow of Kenpachi.

The captain without fear stared at the masked Rayearth, the mask resembled a demonic human skull in black and white with four lines on the black part, the eyes were the only thing visible trough the holes of the mask, purple glowing eyes that easily overshadowed the stare of a hollow.

"Tch…you're strong, I'm going to enjoy this!"

"**I have little time to toy with you" **Ichigo's supernatural voice boomed all over the area, flicking Zangetsu upwards he rejected the blow of Kenpachi easily, opening his guard along the way, then he shot his left arm to the exposed guard of Kenpachi and punched him on the gut, making Kenpachi grunt as he sailed in the air, as the man without fear opened both of his eyes, he saw Ichigo traveling alongside him, and not with good intentions it seemed.

Ichigo's eyes slightly glowed brighter for a second, and Kenpachi was suddenly impacted by an invisible force that sends him downwards towards the hard unforgiving ground, hard.

Kenpachi easily detached himself of the ground, his eyes looking for his opponent, he was impossible to miss of course; his hair is fire to begin with and his body is semi solid lava held by a thin layer of reiatsu that makes it of skin.

"**Looking for me Kenpachi?"** Zaraki Kenpachi grinded when he heard Ichigo's changed voice at his left side, turning to his left, Kenpachi nodded, **"I have little time to talk, so let's make this short, first one to fall unconscious loses"**

"Unconscious? Bah, first to die LOSES!" Kenpachi roared in happiness, launching himself at Ichigo, Ichigo first action was to summon Ignis; the red blade occupied his left hand as usual, Kenpachi began to flail his blade at Ichigo who began to block the rusty and dented blade of Kenpachi with Ignis and Zangetsu, blocking every blow the man without fear kept throwing at him.

Blocking a blow that most surely would have taken his head of his body with Ignis, Ichigo lurched at Kenpachi exposed guard, elbowing him on the face, Ichigo brought Zangetsu upwards and slashed Kenpachi on the chest, instantly blood exploited of the wound of Kenpachi, yet the man didn't scream in pain, he grinded.

Ichigo swung Zangetsu again, this time leaving a huge gash on the shoulder of Kenpachi, then pushed Kenpachi's zanpakutou with Ignis and in the momentum he swung Ignis, leaving a nasty looking cut on the face of Kenpachi that trailed his cheek and nose bridge, but the man seemed unaware of the wounds that would have brought other men and shinigami to their knees in pain.

But Kenpachi seemed unaffected by it, Ichigo narrowed his glowing eyes at that, then he turned around and blocked the strike of Yamamoto with ease with Zangetsu, the cleaver being more than match against the strongest elemental zanpakutou know.

Ichigo pushed the sotaichou easily, then shot at top speed at his barely exposed guard, blocking the punch the aged shinigami launched at him with his left forearm, then slammed his masked forehead on the forehead of Yamamoto, making the shinigami to take several steps back but to not falter in his rage or glare directed at Ichigo.

Ichigo suddenly blurred of sight, leaving a trail of fire on his wake, the captain-commander was able to follow Ichigo's movements, if barely, it was not shunpo of course, it seemed similar, but greatly filled with reiatsu to hamper his ability to see, the only visible way to actually follow Ichigo being the flame trail he left on his wake as he moved.

He blocked a blow to his left side, then turned to his right, blocking a sweep to his chest, just to go eye wide as his back erupted in pain, grunting in annoyance he turned, just to receive a cut on his chest, then to his left bicep, to his right forearm, cuts and blood began to erupt of every part of his body, yet they didn't carry the horrible pain associated with a Rayearth weapon cut.

"There" Yamamoto hissed, flicking his flaming blade and blocking Zangetsu, immediately he tried to flick the weapon away of Ichigo's hands, only to that movement to be turned to him as his zanpakutou was forced to the ground by Zangetsu, there Ichigo rose Ignis and brought it down, the blade, much to the sotaichou's shock cut his zanpakutou like if it was a simple blade, like nothing.

Slightly in shock, the old shinigami was unable to defend himself when Ichigo punted him on the face, sending him crashing on one of the buildings, Ichigo had little time to admire his handiwork as he turned around and blocked Kenpachi's vicious strike laced with enough reiatsu to pulverize anything that was not captain class.

"HAHA! You're strong, stronger than Isshin ever was at your age, oh this is grand!" Kenpachi boomed as he applied more strength into the blow, but Ichigo didn't cave in, **"My father? You knew him?" **Ichigo asked, obviously wondering how the hell his dad got tangled up with this guy.

"Yes! Oh the fights we would get into, the destruction, the power! The amount of hollows we would slay just to see who pays the next drink, oh those were the days" Kenpachi said with a wistful look, "But then he 'died' or so we heard twenty years ago…it was until we heard he was pretty much alive, and had CHILDREN, oh you can't imagine how excited I was to get into a fight with him again, or his children, as strong as him!" Kenpachi boomed, his reiatsu taking the shape of a very scary looking skull.

"AND I WAS PROVED CORRECT, HIS CHILDREN ARE STRONG, I CAN FEEL THE POWER OF THOSE GIRLS FROM HERE, YOU DESTROYED THE ZANPAKUTOU OF THE OLD FART! OF THIS IS GREAT!"

Ichigo paid little mind to Kenpachi's rambling, he was more focused on defeating him, "All that power! Just to fight us, oh this will be epic!"

"**I didn't gained this power to amuse you in a fight"** Ichigo said, his voice silencing Kenpachi instantly, **"I'm not here just to fight and cause generalized destruction…I'm here to rescue someone"** Ichigo exclaimed as he lifted Zangetsu and pointed at something behind Kenpachi, the giant of a man looked at the direction he was pointing and it dawned to him, just like Unohana had predicted, Ichigo was for Rukia Kuchiki.

Kenpachi scoffed at that, "You came for the pansy's sister, so what?" Kenpachi said honestly, surprising Ichigo, **"So what? SO WHAT?"** Ichigo called loudly in shock at Kenpachi's lack of interest for Rukia's situation.

"Yeah, why I should care about her, I don't even know her, I have my own agenda, my own believes, why should I care for a death row prisoner when I can get a great fight out of it!" Kenpachi boomed, Ichigo just kept staring at Kenpachi with a disbelieving look, **"You…you just wanted to fight?"**

"But of course! You think I'm a captain just for the kicks and the housing? I do admit the barracks of the captain are nice, but that's not it, I'm in the Gotei for the thrill of the fight, for the emotion of combat, for the rush of a bout to the death, I don't fight for the safety of this place, I fight for myself!" Kenpachi said with a grin.

"**You…fight for yourself…that ain't a valid reason to fight!"** Ichigo snarled, surprising Kenpachi, but for a whole different set of reasons.

"You…need a reason to fight Ichigo? Why don't you just accept this fact Ichigo? You seek out fights, dammit I heard the knight of fire is the fighter of the Rayearth knights, is in your blood! As you fight you grow stronger, there is no exception for this rule, and anyone who seeks power without exception seeks fights, even you! You fight to gain power? Or you gain more power to fight more? I can't tell ya that, but I can tell ya this is the way we are born! We live to fight you and me! We don't need a reason to fight, we fight because we want! Is instinct! It guides us to the heart of battle, Ichigo! Fight! Fight to gain power to control your enemy, is the only way, so grab those swords of you and cut your enemy down, carve a path Ichigo, just move forward and forget everything behind you!" Kenpachi roared, making Ichigo frown under his mask, not that Kenpachi would note that.

Karin and Yuzu by their part looked aghast and surprised by the statement of Kenpachi, "is…that true Fira-san?" Yuzu asked to the bird of fire.

"**Is like asking the meaning of life, no one really knows, not even us the guardians know, everyone have theories, is just like with Kenpachi there, fighting to him is all to him, some people can't live without conflict in their lives, some nations can't live without conflict in their histories, some say that conflict helps to move forward because those who lead a peaceful life eventually stagnate, maybe is true, maybe is not, who knows? But I know that is his personal believe…and that Naruto would surely not get along with Kenpachi"** Fira confessed, "Who's Naruto?" Karin wondered, her only answer was the equivalent of a smirk of a bird by Fira.

Ichigo just stared at Kenpachi, seeing on the corner of his eye how Yamamoto slowly crawled to his feet, **"You think…I'M JUST HERE TO JUST FIGHT!"** the effect was immediate, Ichigo's reiatsu reacted to his mood, a huge blast leveled the few things Ichigo transformation had not leveled, **"I gained this power to rescue Rukia, not to amuse you Kenpachi!" **Ichigo roared, taking a combat stance, Zangetsu's blade being saturated with reiatsu.

"**But if you want so badly to fight then I'll grant you that!" **Karin and Yuzu eyes widened when Ichigo's mask shattered completely, revealing his face, just like the rest of his body his face was made of semi solid magma held by a thin blue aura, his lips, eyebrows and eyelashes were in fact flames, his teeth they noted were also ablaze, kinda freaky, while his eyes were deep purple glowing.

Kenpachi roared in laughter at the sudden spike of reiatsu of Ichigo, such was the burst of reiatsu that everything around Ichigo was melted, turned into hot glass, Kenpachi had heard stories of only other person able to do that, the old fart, but that was only when he unleashed his Bankai, which happened rarely, but Ichigo's reiatsu and presence alone was enough to set ablaze the ground around him, melt it and keep it that way, he also noted that his zanpakutou was gathering a lot of reiatsu, surely a very powerful and last attack, this was Kenpachi really expected after a long time, a fight going all out, gambling it all in one last, powerful attack, like Unohana had promised him, Ichigo was worth a fight going all out, and the best thing of all this, he was doing it while beating the old fart with his other hand, oh this was glory to him.

Kenpachi then noticed how the sotaichou stood up, bleeding, now he knows that the man is hard to wound, even more than he is, but considering who delivered the wounds he ain't surprised not even a little by the wounds.

Ichigo seemed to note this as well because he turned and faced the sotaichou, Kenpachi there could see that Ichigo outright hated the man, why? He didn't know, perhaps it was something related to the time Unohana came all a mess.

"You think I'll let you do your merry way? You little rascal, you know nothing of how the world goes!" Yamamoto boomed, not even bothering Ichigo with the reiatsu burst that emanated of the man, his sisters were not bothered either, Fira's sole presence protected them of the worse of the spiritual pressure, yet they could basically taste the hate of the old man to Ichigo…and to them, the old man hated them as well.

"You trample our rules, you spit on our traditions, you dare to defy the order of things!" Yamamoto all but boomed, his reiatsu flaring and incinerating all around him without a problem, but Ichigo just scowled at that.

"**Maybe because those rules are so stupid they are worth trampling, you think you uphold balance? When you pursue those who could go head-to-head with the strongest hollows, to think that you place all your hopes on some power drunk men, to let them have all control of your lives! It sickens me!"**

"You have no right to judge our way of life, this is how it has been even before I took reigns of the Gotei 13, rules have kept Seireitei the way it is for over 2000 years, this way of life has been upheld only because of those rules, without rules there is chaos, in chaos lies anarchy, in anarchy justice disappears" Yamamoto boomed, staring at Ichigo directly on the eyes.

"Your kind…you rayearths, you live without rules, you walk on chaos, revel in anarchy, there is no justice in your ways of life, I was proven correct when I met that knight who tried to turn a hollow into a plus, breaking the balance, destroying the rules that were set upon to those beings…and you…you dare to defy our way of life, you, whose mere presence is an offense to all our rules!" Yamamoto stated, adopting a fighting stance, "That's why I shall teach you a lesson you rascal, the justice of the world always goes first than the person justice" Yamamoto said with conviction, Ichigo's answer was blurring out of sight and punching him the face, hard.

The captain-commander was surprised at the actions of Ichigo, surprised yes, he never expected someone to move faster than him, flipping in air he dug his feet hard on the ground, realizing there the strength of the blow.

"**Justice? Laws? You hypocrite bastard!" **Ichigo all but boomed, his transformed face enhancing his not so usual angry scowl, to his sisters the usual scowl was bad enough, but a scowl in a face made out of lava with glowing eyes and flaming hair and teeth, that is scary as hell.

"**You call this justice? You justify trying to kill my family to fulfill your laws? You bastard, that is not justice, that is not law, is madness, putting one of your subordinates on death row because she used some unorthodox method is stupid, sending an assassin to kill a human family is stupid, you and that stupid council of 46 morons believe that you are above all, making harsh rules so others obey or die" **Ichigo snarled.

"**Who gave you the right to decide who lives and who dies? Who gave you the right to decide who is an abomination and who is right in this world?"**

Yamamoto just narrowed his eyes further, his reiatsu flared even more than before, "Because is the way our world runs, we act as protectors of your world, the balance is delicate at is best, we don't need human with powers destroying that balance, those rules were set for a reason" Yamamoto stated.

"…**That's why you killed the Quincy…I see…you all were afraid" **Ichigo muttered, but it was loud enough for Yamamoto to hear, the result was instantaneous.

"SOUL SOCIETY IS NOT AFRAID!" the old shinigami screamed, followed by a "The hell I was!" of Kenpachi, considering the warmonger nature of Kenpachi Zaraki, Ichigo guessed that Kenpachi said that because he believed he had killed the Quincy out of fear of finding one too strong for him to fight, while in truth the Quincy campaign happened long before Kenpachi happened to join the ranks of the captains, Kenpachi would have only fought the Quincy to find a strong opponent to fight.

"All we did, all we have done has been in the name of peacekeeping and safeguarding the balance between the worlds, all of it, I will not allow some children whose lifespan barely covers one of a fly to chastise me about justice and the laws of my world, I promise myself that if I ever found another Rayearth knight I would kill him or her, you are the greatest mistake that was ever made" Yamamoto hissed, making Ichigo narrow his eyes.

"**And all this…kidnapping my sisters, trying to kill my family…now I see it" **Ichigo began, suddenly jamming both of his blades on the ground, **"All because you got beaten by a girl on your own game, all because you were weak and you couldn't get your way" **Yamamoto growled and Kenpachi was slightly contempt to see the old man growl like a rabid dog, all while not fighting, surely a first.

"**You should realize by this moment that there is no one capable of stopping me of helping my friend, not you, not Kenpachi, not even all Seireitei, not even your stupid uptight laws and council of decrepit power hungry individuals, not even the king of soul society will stop me!" **Ichigo declared taking a fighting stance.

"**I gained this power, all this, to help a friend, for her I'm doing this, and the only way you're going to stop me is by killing me…which I doubt" **Ichigo there allowed himself to smirk, making Fira to chuckle and to Yamamoto to basically explode, in the most literal sense.

Reiatsu exited of the old shinigami's body like a waterfall, flattening the spot he was in, immediately he shot at Ichigo, the spot he was becoming a sizable crater in its wake, Ichigo merely narrowed his eyes and steeled himself, in an instant the sotaichou of the Gotei 13 was over Ichigo, launching a powerful two fisted blow at the transformed Rayearth-shinigami.

"Sȏkotsu!" the man boomed, Ichigo rose both hands, grabbing each fist with ease, but finding surprising the strength in each blow, yet it was nothing he could handle at the moment, he felt quite invincible right now, but he knew it was temporal, and the old man was too strong for him if he lost his transformation.

Digging his feet to the ground and applying all his strength, Ichigo stopped the massive blow, a powerful shockwave pushing dust and debris all over them, signaling the power behind the blow and the power behind the blow stopper, to say that Yamamoto was surprised was an understatement.

With a grunt Ichigo opened the guard of Yamamoto, brining his left arm up and his right arm down, there he released the sotaichou's fists of his hold, and then released a powerful right straight at the stomach of the man, gasping in pain the captain-commander was unable to raise his guard up when a powerful roundhouse kick met his left side of the face, lifting him of his feet and sending him flying in a spiral towards the ground, yet he never met the ground as Ichigo was already waiting for him.

Letting the spinning shinigami pass him slightly, Ichigo suddenly reached for the man, grabbing him in mid-air and by the ankle, then pushing him towards himself, there he welcomed the man with a mean left punch to the face, the blow made Yamamoto's whole body to cave in on the ground, creating a gargantuan crater on his wake, yet Ichigo didn't released the man's ankle.

With a grunt of annoyance Ichigo pushed Yamamoto back to him, releasing his ankle of the hold, Ichigo immediately began to punish the man's upper body with a devastating rain of powerful blows that would have easily killed any shinigami lesser to Yamamoto.

Yet the captain-commander took all the punishment, then he saw a small opening, brining his left arm up he blocked a blow of Ichigo, directing the fist to another direction, then rose his right leg, punting Ichigo's chin, the transformed shinigami was left stunned slightly, enough to Yamamoto to strike back.

"Sȏkotsu!" he repeated his attack, this time meeting its mark, sending Ichigo spinning on his back on the air, yet it was not enough to harm Ichigo, just to stun him further and fueling his conviction to beat the sotaichou.

Somehow regaining control in mid-air, Ichigo landed on the ground, immediately launching himself to the surprised Yamamoto, there Ichigo began to launch a series of kicks to Yamamoto, Yamamoto found himself on the defensive as he began to block each bone shattering blow, there he realized that his Haduka training never covered human made martial arts, and if it did, only to a certain extend.

Ichigo by his part was forever thankful that his former training with Tatsuki, while he was not near her level, being that she practiced karate on a more professional level, unlike him, besides he knows that he would never be able to defeat Tatsuki on a fair match, she is considered only the second strongest woman in Japan because she had fractured her arm, nothing else.

Stopping his barrage of kicks, Ichigo suddenly rushed at Yamamoto and impacting the still dazed shinigami with a shoulder charge, Yamamoto still held his guard high so the shoulder charge only met his arms, but that was enough to push Yamamoto away.

With the man away, Ichigo jumped, Yamamoto didn't saw when Ichigo flipped over him, landing softly behind him, when he realized of this however it was already late, Ichigo poised his left hand like a dagger blade and plunged it in, the captain-commander there screamed in pain as the lava limb of Ichigo and reiatsu skin pierced his skin, blood there being vaporized instantly and organs around being boiled every passing second.

"**I told it to Byakuya and I told you now the same…mess with the bull….you get the horns" **Ichigo snarled, digging the hand more, making sure the man who had ordered the dead of his family and kidnapped both his sisters would suffer as much as he could before his transformation died out.

When he felt his transformation coming to an end, Ichigo pulled his hand out,then punched Yamamoto on the back of his head, effectively sending the captain-commander away, spiraling and crashing on one of the buildings, collapsing under him, burying him under tons of rubble.

Immediately after that Ichigo's transformation came to an end, his body returning to its original state, in that moment Ichigo felt exactly the effects of the transformation stress on his body, now realizing why Fira told him that only the knights with the three runes could endure the transformation safely, kneeling, Ichigo began to gasp, his whole body felt like lead, his muscles ached like if he had run a decathlon, ten times on a row without rest, he could barely breathe because every time his chest expanded his ribs would make him cringe in pain, horrible pain.

But he couldn't allow himself to rest, not with other enemy nearby, Kenpachi still stood and he had to defeat him, it was that or allow him to kill him and let his sisters be recaptured again, forcing himself to his feet, Ichigo gritted his teeth as he felt his legs groan in pain, begging him to not force them further.

"_Kuso…Fira was right, Limit is a bitch of a pain to tolerate" _Ichigo thought, locking eyes with the rising Kenpachi, by the grin on the man's face and the rise of his reiatsu, Ichigo concluded that the man was willing to end the fight on one blow, all or nothing, unlike the old man who had tried to beat him down, but was unable to.

At least his mind was not numb by the stress on his body, so he was able to use his telekinesis to call Zangetsu back to him, albeit it killed him to raise his right arm to grab the blade, so he didn't risk himself with Ignis, he was sure he would not be able to raise both blades, he was struggling to hold Zangetsu right now.

"…_you are weakened Ichigo"_

"_Thanks for stating the obvious Zangetsu…but I'm not giving up…there is much at stake" _Ichigo replied to his zanpakutou.

"_I know"_ the zanpakutou replied, Ichigo by his part kept panting, looking at the approaching Kenpachi, and in that moment, while he felt utterly weak, unable to move, something came to his mind, something he knew he had never heard before from no one.

_When you fight to protect a precious one…you become truly strong…_

Ichigo didn't know why, but that single phrase held too much of a meaning right now, because he was not only fighting to rescue Rukia, but to protect his sisters, his family, and truth to be told, he had gained his shinigami powers because he wanted to protect his sisters, his precious ones.

"Zangetsu…help me…protect!" Ichigo hissed, gripping his zanpakutou tightly, his resolve set, Ichigo would not accept a no for an answer of Zangetsu and would not accept a defeat that would cost too much, obviously something Zangetsu realized because in that moment Ichigo felt a burst of reiatsu like no other flood his body, invigorating him, dulling the pain on his body greatly and allowing him to move freely, now he could grip Zangetsu with both hands and fight Kenpachi head on.

"_I can only dull the pain for some instants, make them count"_ Zangetsu replied, "It doesn't matter if it just for a second or an hour, if you fight by my side…I know we can win" Ichigo said, adding his own reiatsu to the already mighty burst of energy, a burst that was felt Seireitei wide.

Shinigami of all ranks froze at the overwhelming energy that just minutes ago had snuffed the one of the sotaichou, the energy that kept rising and overwhelming the one of Kenpachi easily.

Kenpachi kept his maniac like grin on his face, even on the brink of death the kid of Isshin was pulling down all the stops, proof of this was the reiatsu that was flooding the area, it was great, simply great.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh this is great! That's right Ichigo, fight! Put it all on a single strike, your power, your emotions, put it all on your blade and let it drive you!" Kenpachi said with a smirk, "This is the true essence of a fight, one to the death, two combatants putting it all on a single blow, victory being the only driving force that kept them going, nothing else!"

"You're wrong" Ichigo called, making Kenpachi stare at him, "Victory for the sake of winning is empty, there is no victory on that, but…" Ichigo tightened the hold on his zanpakutou, "When you have a real reason to win, a reason that really drives you on to win…then victory is the sweetest thing ever…when you fight to protect you become strong, when you strike to protect you will win!" Ichigo said as his reiatsu, much to the shock of his sisters took the shape of a blue shaped skull like mask, just like the one he had been wearing before, "That is my resolve and believe…that's why I will win!" Ichigo then charged at Kenpachi, each step creating a small crater on his feet as he yelled on his charge.

Kenpachi by his part just grinded more, his reiatsu taking the shape of a skull, simple as that, a gold skull that cackled madly like the owner of the reiatsu that formed it, with a roar that was more like laughter Kenpachi charged as well, his zanpakutou digging a path as it was dragged on the ground.

As Ichigo and Kenpachi approached, Karin and Yuzu noted how their brother irises were glowing blue azure, like his reiatsu, Zangetsu coated in the same energy that was engulfing Ichigo.

Karin for an instant swore she saw an old man behind Ichigo, charging alongside her brother, behind him, following him, like a soldier following its commander to battle, or a friend following another to the unknown.

But Yuzu saw another thing altogether, at the side of her brother, charging with him she swore she saw two faces that definitely were not her brother friends, one was blond spiky with blue sky eyes and spiky eyes, a grin that resembled more that of a mischievous fox, the other belonging to a boy with black spiky hair with blue sapphire eyes, those suddenly glowing green neon for a second, both faces at the side of her brother, not a visible body in all that energy surrounding her brother.

Then both men came close to each other and brought their blades against each other, and as each blade touched each other, the concentrated reiatsu on each blade and combatant was released violently.

A huge blue/gold explosion was set loose on the area, Yuzu screeched in fear and Karin sat in mute shock as the buildings around them were sliced in half cleanly, others closer to her brother and Kenpachi being uprooted of their bases and falling to the ground, the ones far suffered cracks all over their bodies, and it was obvious those buildings would never be habitable again.

As the explosion died out, both girls were able to see ground zero, and gasped when they saw what was left of it, a big crater made of debris and dust, ignoring all logic to stay alongside the guardian that had shielded them of the worse of everything, and had only allowed them to feel a small fraction of the power released, Karin and Yuzu abandoned Fira's protection under her wings and rushed to the crater, Fira by her part was not bothered by both girls ditching her, in fact she was expecting it all along.

"**You're late Yoruichi" **Fira called on her left side, her crimson gaze falling on a black cat with yellow eyes that just landed at her side, "I just arrived Fira-san, I had to check some things here and there…he surely stirred the bee hive…I could feel Yamamoto's reiatsu even from where I was" Yoruichi commented in a serious manner, yet it held an importance to whoever should be hearing the cat that one might believe that it was talking about the weather, not a boy overpowering the strongest shinigami's know so far.

"**I know…and as someone would say, since I know, that means I know everything" **Fira said in a teasing tone, "Indeed…then you must know that the 1st division, the whole division is heading this way…I doubt Ichigo can handle them in the state he is, and as sure as hell he will let his sisters fight for him"

"**I know that too…but don't worry, right now everything can happen" **Fira said with a smirk on her avian features, "Like in wrestling" Yoruichi added, mimicking the smirk of Fira, **"Yeah…transform now, once I tell you move to retrieve Ichigo and the girls…then run some 100 meters and don't stop until you see a gate" **With that Fira vanished on a burst of flames, leaving on her vanishing act a bundle of clothes, clothes Yoruichi found familiar, "Blasted bird" was all Yoruichi muttered as smoke enveloped her feline form, it was not the way she wanted to present herself to Ichigo right now, but well, he didn't had any idea who she really was, the silver lining on the clouds some say, this was her, and as she transformed she kept her gaze on the crater and combatants, and came to a single conclusion.

"That boy sure can take a beating" she declared, seeing Karin and Yuzu froze on their tracks once they saw their brother, a blade poking behind his back, blood leaking out, dangerously close where the heart was, sheer luck had saved Ichigo of having his heart bisected, not that she could say the same about his left lung who was surely punctured, but shinigami could take more, much more.

Kenpachi by his part pulled the blade slowly, the metal cutting more flesh, with a forceful yank he finally released the blade, blood pouring out of Ichigo's chest wound, yet he remained on his feet, and he knew why.

"I…win…" Ichigo declared, his own zanpakutou coated on blood, Kenpachi's blood, suddenly Kenpachi's chest erupted on blood, a mighty gash appearing on his chest starting from his right shoulder and ending on the left side of his hip, but that wound didn't took the grin out of Kenpachi, oh no, it didn't at all.

"…Yes…yes you did…when the rematch is?" and with those words Kenpachi collapsed on his face, unconscious, a pool of blood forming on the ground, yet that grin remained, even unconscious and bleeding out Kenpachi kept grinding, the fight had been so much damn fun.

Ichigo kept staring at Kenpachi, not believing that someone could still grin after all that, yet Kenpachi was grinding, even unconscious.

Ichigo took several steps back, then fell, but his fall was short lived as he suddenly felt someone softening his fall, looking behind he saw Karin and Yuzu holding his weight, allowing him to land softly on the ground, on is butt, "Karin…Yuzu…" he gasped slightly, the wound on his chest hurting like hell, like the rest of his body.

"Ichi-nii" Yuzu muttered as she hugged her brother with all her might, Karin by her part just stared at her brother, a contemplating look on her eyes, but that was gone, replaced by sisterly care, something she rarely showed to her brother, mostly because he could take of himself, but after seeing all he had done for them, for them, she felt she could allow herself, just for once worry about him and shed a little tear, just one.

As Ichigo hugged both his sisters and his sisters hugged him back, he didn't notice someone behind them until he heard his voice.

"How naïve" Ichigo froze instantly when he heard the voice of the sotaichou, right behind them, he could not feel his presence, his inner fire, did that meant he could control it?

"_No"_ Ichigo thought, suddenly realizing that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, letting his guard down.

"How utterly naïve of you" Yamamoto hissed, Ichigo had not turned around yet, still he could detect the pain on the voice of the shinigami, it was obvious that he was putting the brave face despite having a section of his internal organs burned and cooked, that and the sounding beating he gave him, the man was surely barely standing, holding out in sheer stubbornness, nothing else.

"You actually believed you could defeat me, how naïve and childish of you, in over 2000 years I have retain the title of sotaichou of the Gotei 13 for a reason, there hasn't been a shinigami born stronger than me" Yamamoto hissed, there Ichigo smirked, "Until today when I trashed you" Ichigo said, adding salt to the wound that was the pride of the captain-commander.

He didn't know where this new attitude and wiseass comments were coming out, but damn he loved it.

Yamamoto grew incensed at that comment, but that anger was suddenly a reminder of his pain, his back, more specifically his insides burned with the pain of the wound the Rayearth had inflicted on him, he knew that Unohana would chew him off for such a wound, like she did 300 years ago, and with the amount of wounded shinigami the Rayearth had send to her care she would be pretty much stressed and ready to chop the head of the next patient stupid enough to not heed her advice of steering clear of the man who has a sword that can cut trough anything and takes over 10 years to heal a wound inflicted by that blade.

But that didn't mattered to him, as soon he killed the Rayearth all would be fine in soul society, the eventual chewing off of Unohana would not shift him of his good mood once he kills the knight.

"Silence rascal, I'm about to teach you a lesson that you and your sisters will take to the limbo, no law is superior to the one of Seireitei, no law is superior to the law of the king of soul society, human laws are merely child play to us, we do what we must do to preserve the balance and order, regardless where we are, that's why I destroyed that hollow to even the soul, I made an example of that to the Rayearth of wind, and I'll make an example of you, no one is above the laws, no one!" Yamamoto said as he raised his first at Ichigo, not noting someone behind him.

"Learn your place rascal!" and he let his fist sail to Ichigo and his sister…

"The Shield!"

Yamamoto's fist met there a dome of green energy around Ichigo and his sisters, Ichigo seemed surprised as well because he turned around and seemed to go eye wide at the sight of something behind Yamamoto.

"Leave them alone you bully!" Yamamoto turned around, and he was suddenly unconscious and flying away when a pink staff met his chin and send him flying like a ragdoll, such was the force of the impact that Ichigo winced when he saw some teeth fly as well of the mouth of the man, overall that blow was perhaps more effective that his blows during Limit mode against the man, and that kinda scared him, what kind of person could have in one blow knock the teeth out of the strongest shinigami of the Gotei 13 when he couldn't?

His answer came as soon as it was asked, he stared clearly at the attacker and could not give credit to his eyes, the attacker was a girl, surely as young as his sisters, clad in a traditional sailor school uniform for girls, white skirt and a black shirt with white cuffs with red trims in the cuffs, the left sleeve had some sort of shield with a cross in the middle, flanking it was two bronze colored wings, surely the emblem of her school, what called more his attention was her facial features, short light brown hair that barely made it to her neck, green emerald eyes that simply shouted 'cute' and 'naïve' at the same time, also he noticed what she had on her hands, on her right hand she held a pink staff, the one she used to punt Yamamoto to orbit, the tip however was circular and hollow, with a yellow star in the middle and the circle was flanked by two small wings, her left hand held what seemed a pink card of some sort, like a tarot card, but there are not pink tarot cards as far he knows, but that wasn't the only thing she had on her left hand.

Right there, just like his left hand, hers was clad in a ivory fingerless glove, on top of it lay a yellow crystal image of what seemed a sun and the moon surrounded in stars, encircled and flanked by two small chibi like wings, it was perhaps the most intricate symbol he had seen, and it didn't take a genius to know who she was.

"…the fourth Rayearth…the princess" Ichigo gasped, even more as she began to slowly vanish, she didn't seemed concerned by this, in fact she seemed relieved a little by this, "Glad I could help" was all she said with a smile as she vanished with the wind, leaving a dumb folded Ichigo, a kneeling Ichigo still holding his sisters who had no idea who had saved them.

Whatever time to rest and think suddenly died out as the area around them began to be shelled in what seemed red balls of energy that were being fired from afar, "The bastards" Ichigo swore, holding both of his sisters, with a grunt he reached for Zangetsu, then willed Ignis to return to his crystal, and then tried to stand up, only to be unable to do so, soon the attack it was added what seemed blue beams that took the shape of solid pentagonal lances that began to land and impale all around them, the attacks barely avoided them because of sheer luck, yet the attacks were getting closer to them.

"Damn those guys surely hate me!" Ichigo called with some apprehension, holding Karin and Yuzu tighter, using his body to shield them of the blasts.

"**NOW!" **Fira's voice brought shock to Ichigo, even more when he was lifted by someone along with his sisters and Zangetsu and began to move at a great speed, dodging every spell that met the ground.

He believed they made it a hundred meters before a door suddenly materialized before them, "A Senkaimon…" Ichigo breathed, whoever held them just rushed at the opening gates of the Senkaimon, entering the door as a barrage of red balls and blue spikes fell in the area, the door closed successfully, and no one was none the wiser of what had happened, or where they were.

But to those who crossed the gate it was quite an experience, more to Ichigo who knew what happened when you didn't used a hell butterfly to pass a Senkaimon, apparently they were using one because the trip was way different, smoother, safer, and fast because as soon he blinked the trip was done, another door opened before them, and they stumbled in, whoever was carrying them obviously tripped or something.

"Dammit…never got the hang of exciting a Senkaimon using a hell butterfly" he heard, turning around in pain, he saw a woman, the woman had dark skin, like chocolate but lighter, purple hair tied on a pony tail, dressed in an orange robe that made it of a shirt with baggy black pants and sandals, her figure was very enviable to any other woman, but athletic, he could see that on her hands, what caught his attention was her eyes, yellow, unlike other eyes he ever seen, surely a trait most shinigami had, unique eye colors.

"…Hey Ichigo…how you're holding up?" she asked, slowly standing up, helping his sisters stand up as well, then reaching for him, Ichigo, reached for her hand, grabbing in and grimacing in pain as she pulled him up.

"Hot damn, you surely know how to take a beating, most shinigamis would be on their backs moaning in pain with that kind of wound on your chest" she commented, Ichigo just smirked, then grunted as some blood poured out of his wound.

"Easy there, maybe you're a Rayearth built as a tank but you're not invincible, if it wasn't for that girl…who was she anyway?" she asked to Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu by their part observed Ichigo, and how he turned serious, Karin reached for Zangetsu, she was sure that wherever they were, Zangetsu wouldn't be needed, for the moment.

"I…don't know…she knocked the old man with a swing" Ichigo commented, "I saw that, I bet he is still on orbit, but who was she?" she asked again, "I don't know her name…but I know this…she is the last Rayearth…the princess" Ichigo statement was met by mute shock of the dark skinned woman, "The princess…a Rayearth…you mean the secret Rayearth? Kami mighty this is unbelievable" the woman said in surprise.

"Well, guess you know how to draw attention" she said, Ichigo just raised an eyebrow, looking at his sisters with a slight smile, then turned to the woman, "Who are you?" he asked, the woman just smirked and leaned, anyone looking would believe the woman was flirting with Ichigo.

"I'll give you a clue…" she said in the most seductive way possible, making Ichigo fluster, "you bit my tail" she then said, serious as a statue, no amusement on her voice, it took a second to Ichigo to realize who she was.

Truth to be told his reaction was expected.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"He's here" she said in a sing-song voice, a smile gracing her lips, truth to be told she had been waiting him for a long time, hell ever since she knew they were inside Seireitei she had tried to make contact, but her position had not allowed her that.

Not only that, Yamamoto had totally ignored her orders, he had tried to kill her children, her babies, he would pay, in time of course, just like Isshin would, not that bad, maybe frustrate Isshin and make him sweat, but he, unlike Yamamoto would be able to make up for his little mess up, it has been a while since she had her man on the bed.

Nevertheless she had to control herself, the entrance of her son to Seireitei, or better said storming like a bulldozer, if he hadn't done that she was certain she would have never realized who was attacking, the shock of seeing her son leading a charge to free a girl was kinda romantic, on a way, but it showed her that Isshin raised Ichigo well.

Yet things seemed to get out of hand at the moment, Yamamoto had the gall to order the kidnapping of her daughters, which made her really mad, but was glad her son had rescue them, and she was quite amused when Yamamoto got beaten not by her son, but by a girl that randomly appeared, but with a Rayearth knight nothing is random, just their personalities.

Once she saw that they were going to shell the zone her children were, she acted, it was easily to create a shield around the fallen Kenpachi, she kinda owed it, he didn't fight when Ichigo was dueling Yamamoto, and his sole reason to fight was that, to fight, he was not there for some obscure reason or carving of revenge, he was just there to fight, he never raised a finger against her daughters, so she decided it was best the man without fear had some protection until his lieutenant picked him up once the shelling of the area is done, after all men like him are needed in times of conflict.

She was not surprised when Yoruichi Shion herself took her children away, saving them of the shelling, and even knew where the Senkaimon she made would appear, she suspected Fira had something to do with that, but for the moment she had only suspicious and her children were safe once they crossed the Senkaimon.

True is highly irregular that someone who is not of the royal family to enter the palace, but well, Yoruichi just saved her children, so by default she became friend of the family.

Besides their children deserved to know the truth, they deserved to rest, especially her son, she knew what was next to come would be hard for everyone, and a lot of dirty lies would be uncovered.

With a flourish and a flick of her wrist, two shinigami dropped at her side, each of them had a pentagonal badge that had no inscription in it, nothing, nada, not even a number, or a symbol to distinguish them, just a pentagonal badge tied to their biceps.

"Come…let's welcome my family" and with that Masaki Kurosaki and her escort walked away to welcome the new arrivals, after all they were part of the royal family as well, so their stay in the royal palace was highly welcomed and expected.

* * *

_There you have it people, another chapter done and gone, this one was highly expected because of its spolier contents i believe, or perhaps it promised the longest batlle i have written without breaks or line breakers i don't know, either way this one is done, now to those who have been reading the manga you can expect a lot of spoliers coming in the next chapter, and me shamelessly butchering the cannon line as i continue writting, but one thing is certain, in my story Aizen is NOT; by any way possible ending up as a bondage project gone wrong, now for the preview of the next chapter._

**Truth shall set them free...**

"I can't believe it...we are in the royal dimension"

**Truth shall lift the burned of their shoulders...**

"Yamamoto-sotaichou...please tell me what you know about the Kurosaki"

**Truth...**

**"**So, you been hiding here...Sosuke-Taichou"

**Truth...is not somehting that must be set so easily...**

**_In the next chapter of Rayearth Knights. Ichigo the Inferno...Truth of three days..._**

"Ichigo-chan, Yuzu-kun, Karin-chan...I have miss you so much"

**The truth shall set them free, or kill them...**

"Retsu-chan...for old times...tell me what happened to my daughters before I decide to rip Isane's head off"

* * *

_till a next time people, Hypn0s signs off and bids you all a good weekend._


	11. 10: truth of three days

__

Hello to you all, and happy new year! I know it has been some time since i have updated any of my stories, serious writters block and all that, in any case i'm here with another chapter, and also to wish you all a happy new year, and to those who live in countries who are already on 2011, well lucky you, i'm still waiting as i write this, in any case my last chapter of this year, and hopefully the beguining of many more to come on the new year, so without any other wait, and to those who are reading right now at this hour, passing time so to reach midnight, i give you yet another chapter of the rayearth knights, this one will have an omake, enjoy.

* * *

**CHAPTER 10: TRUTH OF THREE DAYS**

**Day one…**

"This…is too much" Shunsui, truth to be told had been expecting a lot of things considering who had clashed in this spot, three titans had basically beat the shit out of each other, and honestly said, he had no idea who had won.

Kenpachi was being carried away by his Lieutenant to the 4th division barracks, unconscious and grinding while at it, the captain-commander was yet to be found, last he was seen, he was sailing on the air and already bypassed Seireitei aerial boundaries, and the third one, Ichigo the Rayearth Ryoka was missing, there was no trace of him or his sisters whatsoever, only the destruction and devastation left behind in their clash.

To be honest he expected more destruction, this was of course the sisters of the Rayearth knight who had been kidnapped, who also were the son and daughters of Isshin, he is still surprised to not see a trace of Isshin raising Seireitei in search of his daughters.

"So…Sado-kun, do you still believe Ichigo needs help?" he asked to the giant that was posing as one of his shinigamis, and advantage of having his own division and the sheer number of shinigamis in the Gotei 13 was that most of them didn't knew each other, even inside their own divisions, maybe in his some of his subordinates knew each other better than in other divisions, with the exception of the 4th division that required every person to know the other so they could work as a well oiled machine, but the fact remained that anyone who could done shinigami robes and a sword on their hips could pose as a shinigami, as long they could stick to their covers, in Chad's case, he was a newly minted member of Shunsui's division, no one could question a captain, especially with a man like Chad standing at his side, believe it or not Chad in shinigami robes and his hair covering his eyes is quite a daunting sight.

"Damn he wrecked the place…pity I wasn't here to see him do the same to those two" and as usual Ganju expressed his hate towards shinigami, much to Nanao annoyance, at least he was mellowing, with a lot of alcohol and her taichou's easy-going attitude that is.

"I doubt we would have been conscious to see it, even from our barracks we could feel their reiatsu…Kami mighty I have never felt so much power unleashed" she said as she looked around, raising her glasses upwards with her fingers, her book ever present on her arms.

"You have to ruin my fun eh sweet cheeks?" Ganju said with a sneer, immediately Nanao had her book on his skull, on repeated occasions, Shunsui chuckled at that, ever since Chad and Ganju came Nanao had been lively, and he was having such a blast, if only this was not followed by the utter destruction of the Rayearth knight battles and the sotaichou vendetta.

"…Ichigo was here…he kneeled here" Chad said as he looked at the ground in front of them, then kneeling, "…that man was also here…the sotaichou…but he was violently punched or punted away here by another person" Chad said, grabbing something on the ground, then standing up and handing it to Shunsui, the layback captain accepted it, seeing that what Chad gave him was a tooth.

"…Okay, either one of Ichigo sisters lost one of their milk teeth or…" he trailed off, seeing a courier shinigami approaching them, "Taichou…sir…we found the sotaichou…on the outskirts of Soul Society…uh…" the courier there began to fidget.

"Yes?" Nanao asked, "Well…he asked if someone were to finds his teeth then to hand it to Unohana to she can re-implant them on his mouth" the courier said, there Shunsui looked with astonishment at the teeth on his hand, then at Chad, and grinded.

"And here I was told the tooth fairy didn't exist, you just prove me wrong" he said with a chuckle, Chad just grunted but said nothing, his growl and silence pretty much said it all.

"Captain" Nanao warned, "What? Is not like the tooth fairy does exist" he said, "It does not!" she snapped.

"…So you all said the same about the Rayearth knights and…" Chad trailed off, drawing his inner Shunsui and looking at the area around him with some amusement, making Nanao eye twitch, "For the love of…sunova…mother…ARRRGGHH!"

"Now now Nanao-chan, we all make mistakes, including you, that makes you even more cute" Nanao's answer to Shunsui's comment was a book on the face and a lot of obscenities coming out of her mouth.

"Oh man this is awesome, I'm so glad I tagged along with you" Ganju commented as he leaned on Chad's.

Chad's only response to that and the out coming beating Nanao was giving to a captain with a very thick book was to let a loud and long groan followed by a roll of his eyes.

* * *

"Hanatarou-kun, get me those bandages of the storage room, and while you're at it get me several burn salves and disinfectant, we need to treat the wound the old fashion way"

"Hai Unohana-taichou!" Isane watched as Hanatarou dashed towards the storage room, not as meek as he usually did, this brought a smile to her face, "He changed" she said to Retsu.

"Indeed, I knew that he tagging along with the knight of fire would do him good, I guess I was correct, not only he presented him with the blade of Rukia, but Ichigo gave Hanatarou something we have forgot once we became shinigami" Unohana said as she glance at a room in particular.

"What?" Isane wondered, "…Hope, hope for change, change is good as long everyone accepts it, and currently we need it and want it, everyone felt his reiatsu, his power, he overwhelmed the sotaichou on combat, he overwhelmed our best in combat, on another time this would have warrant him a death sentence"

"And he has, Yamamoto-sotaichou wants him dead" Isane replied, "Indeed, but he doesn't realize that he is contending with forces far beyond his control, the knights serve a greater being that he cannot hope to content against and Ichigo itself is tied to a force that rule us all" Unohana said seriously.

"…Chaos?" Isane wondered, making Retsu chuckle at that, "No…but it will be chaotic once everyone realized to who he is tied to" she added with a small smirk, Isane steeled herself at that, she would never be able to get use to see Retsu Unohana smirking in any way.

"Now let's us attend our new resident" she said as she opened a door and exposed its occupant, "Yamamoto-sotaichou I told you not to move, you are wounded and I haven't found all your teeth!" she snapped, making Isane slightly smile.

Maybe the captain-commander is or was the strongest on Seireitei and commands the shinigami, but Retsu Unohana rules supreme on the 4th division and no one questions her, not even Kenpachi, although he couldn't, he's still unconscious and with that shit eating grin on his face.

Isane shivered at that, she didn't want to imagine what maintained that grin on the unconscious man's mind.

* * *

"Is okay Ichi-nii" Yuzu said as she patted her brother's back, all while Ichigo rocked back and forth, all while muttering nonsense, his chest was wrapped already on bandages, Yoruichi seemed to have a small skill on first-aid because she easily wrapped the wound of his chest, and much to the girls shock, the wound was well on its way to heal, another example of the power of a knight.

Karin by her part kept her grip on Zangetsu and her eyes on Yoruichi, by any accounts she didn't trust the woman, true she plucked them out of a literal warzone, but she had done something to her brother, there was no way her brother would break like that, he didn't even after going toe-to-toe with those two maniacs, yet this girl said something to him and he was wailing his soul out.

"Hey!" Karin shouted to Yoruichi, the dark skinned woman turned to the little girl, noting finally the shinigami clothes, and sighed, "My lord…Isshin had three shinigamis" she said, "IT WAS A MISTAKE!" Ichigo shouted, making Yoruichi raise an eyebrow at that, no brother would say that, unless…

"Ugh…Ichigo dammit you turned your sisters into shinigamis! Can't you control that monster reiatsu you have?" she all but snapped, ignoring Karin, "First thing we will do once this mess is over is to properly train you on how to control your reiatsu" she snapped, "HEY!" Karin didn't like not even a bit being ignored, so she tried a different approach, her brother's approach, meaning the violent one, she tried to kick Yoruichi, key word being trying.

Yoruichi had to hand it to Ichigo, even if transformed as shinigamis Karin still had the potent kick that Urahara kept complaining about, she would have paid a lot of cash to see a little girl kick a rock like a soccer ball straight to Kisuke's head.

But the girl had a temper, and in combat that temper would land her in many problems, unlike her brother she couldn't take titans all alone, and while that kick could break bones of anyone, be it shinigami or hollow, it was slow, so it was easy, painfully easy to move away of the kick, stand behind Karin, steal her zanpakutou and hit her lightly on her head, all in the span of a second, to say that the ones present were surprised was a understatement.

"Little girl, you think you can jump on me? I'm not nicknamed _the goddess of flash step_ just for the kicks of it" Yoruichi stated, seeing Karin turn and glare at her, or pout, "You have a mean kick I'll give you that, have that connected to any part of my body I would have so said part fractured, but you lack speed and you need to control your temper a little, unlike your brother you can't go head on with the meanest Seireitei or Hueco Mundo has to offer" Yoruichi said, all while Karin glared at her, then huffed, "As for while your brother freaked out when I talked to him…let's just say that he had a taste of me" she said with an all superior smile, Karin meanwhile reacted accordingly to that proclamation.

She turned around, stabbed Zangetsu on the ground, dashed straight at her brother, jumped and delivered a nasty kick to her brothers face, all while shouting "BAKA!"

This seemed to be a normal occurrence because Yuzu automatically began to scold Karin for her behavior, Yoruichi chuckled at that, it seemed fairly normal, and it reminded her of other times, easier times, times when she was young and naïve, when she had a lot of friends, now the only friends that remained alive after that were Urahara and Kuukaku, the only ones alive.

She in a way envied Ichigo and company, they had the world at their grasp, they were alive and accompanied by those who they loved and cherished, and the worst thing they had to worry prior of knowing that shinigamis existed and fought spirit eating beings was their grades.

"Okay kid enough" Yoruichi said as she stepped between Karin and Ichigo, this one using his telekinesis to call Zangetsu back, something his sisters saw in awe, Yoruichi saw the speculative looks on their eyes, and answered the unasked question, "No girls, you can't call your zanpakutous like he can, is a Rayearth thing" she said as she looked around, going eye wide a minute later.

"Oh hell" she muttered, but it was loud enough for the Kurosaki siblings to hear, the three stared at the dark skinned woman, her yellow eyes wide in surprise, "I can't…believe it…" she muttered.

"Believe what?" Ichigo asked, looking at the shocked woman.

"…we are in the royal dimension" Yoruichi said in a soft whisper, her yellow eyes locking with Ichigo's, there he could see how serious the thing was.

"…royal…dimension?" Karin asked, "That's right, the king of soul society lives here with the royal family, also the zero division lives here" Yoruichi said, narrowing her eyes, "Zero division?" Yuzu this dime asked.

"Yes, the Gotei 13 are divided in thirteen division, the old man Ichigo fought is the captain of the first division and the head of the Gotei 13, while Kenpachi, the maniac with the pointy hair and scary smile is the captain of the 11th division, a division made by the sole purpose of combat" Yoruichi said, looking at both girls with a smile.

"But sometimes the king calls a shinigami of any division to his command, no one, not even the sotaichou nor central 46 can't overrule this, the zero division is formed of the best of every other division, medics, brawlers, kido experts, haduka adepts, name it they have it, they are the king's army, his bodyguards, they protect the royal dimension and the king and his family, you think we were knee deep back in Seireitei, well here we don't have the advantage of Ichigo blowing the imperial barrier and putting half of the Gotei shinigami on a reiatsu induced coma, we are in a very bad position" Yoruichi said as she eyed both girls and then at Ichigo.

"I hope you know how to handle those zanpakutous like your brother does because if worse comes to worse we will have to fight" Yoruichi said as she adjusted her clothes, "I doubt they will blow this place Yoruichi" Ichigo commented to the woman, so said woman just turned to stare at him, "And in what you base this?" she asked.

"We are in the royal garden" Ichigo said, pointing at the area around them, indeed they were standing in a very luscious and beautiful garden, with a pond which was fed by a medium size waterfall, flowers of all kinds littered the ground with a well trimmed grass, rocks lay around like chairs, and they could hear a lot of birds singing, it was quite a peaceful place to be.

"I bet anything that this place is the favorite spot of the wife of the king, is well kept and is obvious she spends a lot of time here, either way a battle here would damage the place, and I bet the woman would hate her garden be destroyed" Ichigo commented, making Yoruichi sigh.

"I guess you're right, yet the zero division would have a perfect excuse to destroy this place on battle considering that we are basically intruders in the realm, hell not even Yamamoto has entered here and he is the closest to the king a shinigami can get" Yoruichi said.

"Indeed Shihoin" Yoruichi turned so fast that she almost broke her spine and neck while doing so, her eyes widened when she lay eyes on a woman dressed in shinigami clothes, but the difference immediately were seen , the white haori usually wore by captain class shinigami was black as the uniform with golden trims on the edges of the haori, the sash held a pentagonal emblem which Yoruichi was well familiar, the same skull surrounded in flames which Ichigo had on his glove, but this one had a crown on the top of the skull, the emblem of the royal family.

"Shit" she hissed as she assumed a battle stance, but then froze when three burst of reiatsu emanated from behind her, turning around she saw with great shock how Karin, Yuzu and Ichigo glared at the woman, the girls irises were glowing blue as they held their zanpakutous, while Ichigo were basically burning.

"You…" Yuzu hissed, "How you dare…" Karin added, grinding her teeth together, "HOW YOU DARE USE KAA-CHAN'S FACE!" Ichigo basically went ballistic, Yoruichi noted that the girls were not far behind their brother temper and reiatsu unleashing, as she looked at the woman in shinigami robes, then at Yuzu, then pondered the statement of Ichigo, the reaction of the girls and who was their father, she made the connection, and was really shocked by it.

"Guys stop!" she said, but it was too late to stop them at all.

"Rest asunder, Ninau!"

"Reflect, Soratobu!"

"Obliterate, Ignis!"

Yoruichi could only stare in shock as two girls of barely eleven years released their zanpakutous; Karin zanpakutou had taken the form, much to Yoruichi shock of a pair of armored boots that reached to her knees, the armored boots seemed highly sectioned and for superior movement, not to mention that the tips were fashioned as a trident tip.

She then looked at Yuzu, her arms had what seemed two armored wings of some sort, then both wings opened, revealing a mirror in the middle of each, Yoruichi could conclude there that Yuzu's released zanpakutou was for defense, not offense, and quite a beautiful one she might say, the wings that formed the shield edges were made of silver, delicate at sight but they seemed sturdy enough to take even the nastiest attacks.

Then it was Ichigo's Rayearth blade, she knew Ignis didn't need a command phrase, she knew it, Rayearth blades react at the will of their wielders, not a command word, maybe it was in his anger he had decided to give Ignis a command word or something because Zangetsu was always on a released state, her answer came when out of Ignis edges, serrated blades emerged, Yoruichi got eye wide at the array of deadly blades that emerged of Ignis, even more when these array of blades began to move, like a chainsaw chained blades.

"This…is not going to end well" she was right as several members of the zero guard converged around the woman whose eyes had a sad look, _"She must be sad, her own children didn't recognized her"_

"You! Using our mother's face to trick us! I won't forgive you!" Karin snarled, this seemed to be consent among the Kurosaki siblings as they snarled and launched themselves at the zero guards, anger etched on their faces.

"Aw dammit all to hell!" and against all her best judgment Yoruichi joined them, but to prevent them of injuring someone too much or attacking their mother.

"ENOUGH!"

**BAMM!**

**BAMM!**

**BAMM!**

"ITAI!"

Only to stop and gape like the rest of the zero division as the woman she knew as Masaki Kurosaki hit her three children with a paper fan that she pulled out of her haori, she was surprised that the simple looking paper fan was enough to actually bring pain to Ichigo when not even being stabbed by Kenpachi and hit by Yamamoto was unable to.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! Karin Kurosaki! Yuzu Kurosaki!" Masaki all but boomed, looking at her three children who were clutching their heads in pain, Yoruichi and the zero guard all but sweat dropped and took several steps back, not wanting to be caught in the wrath of the queen of soul society and mother of the Rayearth knight and the two small shinigami.

Ichigo was about to say something when Masaki locked eyes with him, and he froze at the sight, "Ichigo-chan…have you already forgotten how your kaa-chan looked like" she said, slowly kneeling in front of Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu were about to snap at the woman and say something to Ichigo when they looked at him and froze on sight.

Karin and Yuzu would remember this day forever because not only they found their mother; it was also the day Ichigo Kurosaki cried.

"…Kaa…chan…" Ichigo breathed, dropping Zangetsu and Ignis, Zangetsu would have snapped at Ichigo hadn't been for the fact the inner world was basically being hit by a typhoon, and Zangetsu hated rain, but this was different, he knew why.

"…It…it…can't be…you…you died…he…he killed you…" Ichigo whispered, being the only witness of that fateful day the Kurosaki family lost Masaki to the hollow know as Grand Fisher.

"I know…he killed me, I wake up in the nights with phantom pain on my back, covered in sweat and wondering if my baby lived" she said, slowly bringing her right hand to his cheek, rubbing Ichigo's cheek in a way that he long had believed he would never feel again.

"My body died, my chain was broken, I could never return…but I was saved, they drove Grand Fisher before he dared to attack you…and I regret nothing of that day, maybe perhaps not seeing you grow, seeing Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan grow as well, seeing your dad every day…oh god how I missed you" Masaki said as she hugged Ichigo, the boy answered her hug with one of his own, all while letting tears out of his eyes, holding the woman for all that was worth.

The two girls meanwhile stared at the woman who had basically made their brother cry, they had never seen him cry, it was always a frown, a scowl, a serious face, a sad face, a smirk, never a smile or a tear on his face, this was new, this was frightening to them, then both girls stared at the woman straight in the eyes, and froze as well, memories rushing to them hard, days where both girls giggled without control when their mother rubbed her cheek to their brother cheek, days when her mother scolded their father with a frying pan on the hand for trying to take a bite of the unfinished food, of the woman who always smiled at them no matter what.

That same smile the woman was directing at them, the same lips, the same eyes, the same cheekbones, the same hair, the same all.

Karin dropped to her knees, eyes wide, unable to believe was she was seeing, Yuzu simply brought her hands to her mouth, drowning a gasp and a sob that emanated of her mouth, the released forms of their zanpakutous vanishing, becoming once again simple blades and falling to the ground, joining Zangetsu and Ignis.

"Kaa…san?" Karin asked with hesitation, Masaki simply nodded with a smile, "Kaa-chan" Yuzu simply muttered, her eyes filled with tears, Masaki just smiled once again.

"KAA-CHAN!"

* * *

Central 46, the main hub of the laws on Soul Society, the place where the 'wise' gather to judge those who broke the laws with an iron fist and with cold attitude that one would mistaken them for machines for their lack of soul and feelings, they didn't care why a rule was broken, they never cared, even if it was for a loved one, revenge, or for necessity, they didn't care, the rules of Soul Society were absolute, their rules were absolute, no one was above those rules, not even them.

And now they lay dead on their desks, on their chairs, the atrium of Central 46 was littered with dead bodies, blood pooled on the ground, every member of Central 46, everyone held a shocked look on their faces.

Momo just stared at the scene with some apprehension, Central 46 is…or was the central hub of laws in Soul Society, it was also the most well defended building in all of Seireitei, Kido spells of all kinds were casted on the area to protect those inside, yet this seemed useless now.

"…So…this is why you brought me here Gin…to put the blame on me" Momo said with a snarl, looking at the silver haired man who smiled like a fox, "Or it was because Aizen ordered you" the smile slipped a little, but yet remained on Gin lips.

"My…you are quite perceptive" Gin commented, Momo just narrowed her eyes, then turning around, raising her hand and letting a kido spell fly to one of the stands, the impact forced someone to leave the protection of the shadows and the stand, landing softly in front of Momo.

"Or it was because Aizen-_Taichou_ ordered you to" she said, staring at the face of her captain, the spectacles on his face gleaming and covering his eyes, and that smile…that damn faked smile.

"You can drop the act, I know who you really are" Momo said with a serious look, Tobiume posed on his neck, Gin actually held an incredulous look, Momo not only had unsheathed her blade at the speed a captain would unsheathe theirs, but her zanpakutou was on its released form at the same time, now that was something commendable.

Instantly Aizen's overall demeanor changed, while he still held a smile this one was different, it felt…darker, it looked like a smile of someone sure that would be able to take over the world, it was not overall cocky, it belonged to someone who knew what he was doing.

"So you found out…Hinamori-kun" he said.

"It was not that hard to puzzle, especially when I'm your lieutenant and you basically showed me what your zanpakutou can really do, unlike that demo you gave to the others" she said seriously, Aizen didn't seem intimidated by the fact a blade was about to take his head off, in fact he looked smug.

"I commend your insight Hinamori-kun, but you really know what I'm doing?" Aizen asked, staring at Momo like a father lecturing a child, Momo didn't like that look at all.

"Truth to be told I don't, but I can guess is something relating Central 46, after all they are the governing body of Seireitei, no matter how powerful the sotaichou is he is practically useless if Central 46 tells him to do nothing" Momo stated.

"Partly right, partly wrong" Aizen stated, "You see, while true Central 46 is the governing body of Seireitei, they are not exactly fit to govern at all, in fact they receive orders also, but from whom?" he asked with a smile, looking at Momo in the eyes, "Do you know who they answer to?"

"Of course…they answer…to the king…" Momo breathed eyes wide, "What are you really planning?" she asked with shock.

"Not much Hinamori-kun, in fact my plan is just in its infancy stage" he confessed, "Infancy? You call slaughtering Central 46 just the beginning? What the hell!" she snapped angrily.

"Indeed, and I must say all was going according to plan when the literal X of the formula appeared" it didn't take a genius to know who he was referring to.

"The Rayearth knight" she gasped, and then smirked, "So…he basically put a stop to your plans eh?" she said.

"Hardly, while I dare say that he is a factor that I didn't saw coming no matter how smart or powerful I am there is little he can do, what I have set in motion is something not even the fabled Rayearth knights with all their power can hope to stop dead in their tracks, Ichigo is just…what is the word living use for this…ah yes, delaying the inevitable" Aizen stated.

"And I have to admit that you knowing, while surprising is nothing of consequence" he added, making Momo scowl, "In fact all my plan layout changed the moment Ichigo the Ryoka came, including timetables, but as some living general of the human world say, no plan survives first engagement, is all about adapting, and I" Aizen said as he rose his hand, a small dark purple orb in hand.

"Have adapted" the next thing Momo knew was that her back erupted in pain, blood suddenly raining in front of her, but not even a drop landing on Aizen, yet Aizen gave her credit for keeping herself on her feet.

"You…bastard…" she gasped, swinging Tobiume to whoever had attacked from behind, only to her blade to be stopped by a single well tanned finger.

"Harribel, if you may?" Momo had little time to react when her chest erupted in blood, falling backwards her left hand grabbed the cuff of something, just to give in, as she fell the face of her attacker was visible.

Blond hair with stunning green eyes, tanned skin and the bottom of her face was covered by a mask, a hollow mask.

As she fell she looked at Aizen with scorn, "A…hollow…what…are you really…planning?" she asked with anger, Aizen just smiled that smile of his as he approached her and kneeled on her fallen form.

"You see, for so long the throne above the heavens has been empty, not even the king has been able to fill it, but I will, the king will die by my hand, and then I will seat upon the throne above the heavens, a god, and when that happens you can expect changes…great changes"

Momo just gritted her teeth, and as consciousness slipped away of her alongside her blood, the last thing she saw as darkness claimed her was Aizen walking away with that woman Harribel and Gin approaching her, and the feeling of someone grabbing her right ankle.

"Well, I guess you are about to share a cell with Rukia-chan…send her my regards"

How she hated that fox faced bastard.

* * *

Yoruichi had seen many things in her long life, perhaps not as many as Yamamoto has seen and even less considering that Fira was older than anyone in the room and has seen the making of heroes and villains, has seen wars come and go, civilization crumble like sand castles, but if something she knew from watching the current scene was that for the first time in many years she wanted to go to Hueco Mundo and slaughter every single hollow on sight.

On the academy they taught everyone to kill their emotions on the field, the death of a companion would be easily the first step to yours, getting angry was synonymous of suicide, in the academy they taught them to be hollow killing machines, to have little mercy against the beasts, the after-effects of suppressing your feelings sometimes can be seen among the ranks of the Gotei 13, quirks that can vary between laziness, violent tendencies and responses, abuse of the alcohol and acting as man-whores or sluts depending of the gender being a few of the examples, other extreme cases being the total lack of feelings, and so far Byakuya Kuchiki is a prime example of this.

But there was something that can actually return the feelings to anyone after seeing a mother being reunited with her children, it was a touching moment, indeed it was something that few people could see full force and endure without shedding a tear, maybe Aizen would endure it and keep that stupid smile of his, even having the gal of offering tea while at it.

Pushing aside the thought about the man, Yoruichi focused on the task at hand.

"How in the name of your son you became…the queen" Yoruichi asked, Masaki, who held both her daughters on her arms and Ichigo who stood behind her looked at Yoruichi seriously.

"You can say it was thanks to Isshin" Masaki began, "The day…I died…the chain that bound me to the living world was severed, I nearly ended up as food for a hollow when two shinigami who were not clad in shinigami robes came to my aid, they scared the hollow away, mostly because they were afraid what a battle near my son would do, truth to be told they were afraid of awakening more of his latent power, in any case they performed Konso on me once they explained the risks of staying too long in the living world in the state I was, after I…said Ichigo goodbye they performed it…next thing I know I ended up here" Masaki began.

"Isshin's brother welcomed me with surprise, he actually didn't expected someone coming here, even more after a Konso, when he asked me who my husband was and answering he was clearly surprised, Isshin was his brother, the older and therefore entitled to the title of King once his father died after 5000 years of rule, but when Isshin 'died' that responsibility passed to him, still since I married him I became sort of a princess, and my children were royalty as well, who would have thought it?" Masaki said with a smile.

"Not me, dad keeps a poster of you in the kitchen, I can't imagine him as royalty, let alone a king" Ichigo said with a grimace, "Yes…guess time without his wife messed him a little, nothing a good night sleep…"

"Mum…for my sake and the sake of my sisters, don't, and I repeat, don't say your plans relating you, dad and your room in like, forever" Ichigo added, making Masaki pout, "You're not fun" she said.

"I'm the dammed Rayearth of fire, I'm not supposed to be fun, I'm suppose to set things on fire and blow shit everywhere" Ichigo snapped, "He has a point, he has basically done that ever since he set foot on Seireitei…but he'll tell you later, now if you please could continue?" Yoruichi asked to Masaki.

"But of course…you could say the first two years were odd, my time with Isshin awoke my own spiritual power, maybe not as vast as Isshin's or Ichigo's when he was little, but it existed, and Isshin's brother Sanosuke decided I should get training, and in those two years I learned all I could from the members of the zero guard, kido, haduka, you name it I learned it, my power grew to be on par with Isshin's back when he was a shinigami, which surprised Sanosuke and several members of the guard, I guess Ichigo can blame me for being such a fast learned, Isshin-kun was not exactly a fast learned in many matters" Masaki confessed with a smile, making Ichigo and Karin to snort softly.

"On my third year I learned why he wanted me to be strong, a strong king needs a strong queen" she said, instantly the room grew hot and saturated with reiatsu that emanated of Ichigo.

"Oh pipe down Ichigo-chan I did not cheated on your dad" Masaki snapped sternly, brandishing her paper fan to Ichigo, Yoruichi would have laughed after seeing the so far invincible Rayearth of fire and shinigami/hollow hybrid for shrinking after seeing an object he could easily set ablaze with his sight alone if it wasn't for the fact she might get on the bad side of Masaki and therefore getting the paper fan on her head.

"There is a rule among members of the guard and the royal family" one of the guards suddenly said, "Because we live so long and this dimension is separated of soul society that we live in nearly total isolation, seeing the same face every day for the next two or three millennia kinda makes you crazy, so every two hundred years we are allowed a leave to either soul society or the living world, from there you can carry a simple life, have a family, live, of course when your Gigai expires you return immediately to the royal realm and your family is entitled that same right of those of the royal family once they are konso-ed, they arrive to the royal realm to live here, to bolster the ranks" the guard said to Ichigo.

"But Sanosuke never left the realm, he spend too much time here, trying to find a 'fitting' queen from the many women of the royal guard" Masaki began, "This caused many of the guards to be really angry at him because they were married woman and a king looking for a wife among married women is greatly frowned upon, so when he saw me he knew I had no attachments, or so he believed, I still love Isshin, and I'm still married to him" Masaki said, displaying proudly her wedding band on her ring finger.

"All that 'Till death do us apart' is a lie on most cases; if a couple loves each other greatly those bonds are carried even in death, although there is a problem in the cases of couples who married again" Yoruichi said with a thoughtful look.

"In any case as you can expect he didn't took it kindly, he attacked me and I retaliated, our duel destroyed several halls of the palace, and a garden, he had the experience on him, and I only had my will to not give up, eventually I made a mistake and he disarmed me" Masaki said with a serious look, "But the guard intervened, since I am married to the oldest son and technically Sanosuke was just covering Isshin's position until he came back that made me the queen by default, so I kinda outranked Sanosuke" Masaki there grew silent.

"Attacking the queen, regardless who is punishable with death" one of the guards stated, "Sanosuke forgot this and attacked her in blind rage, and even in death he was enraged by the fact his brother had it all" other guard stated.

"Envy…why I'm not surprised" Ichigo muttered, holding Masaki by the shoulders, he was glad is mom was alive, but not so glad someone has been trying to wed her when she was obviously married, a sentiment shared obviously by his sisters that seemed equally determined as his brother to protect their mother of anyone who wanted her.

"He was not fast enough and was distracted by me, so he fell fast against the zero guard, truly a shame, your father will be devastated after hearing this, but I guess he'll understand, eventually, family is family, regardless of how they behave" Masaki stated with a sigh, running her hands on her daughter's hair, this seemed to mellow both girls who gave happy sighs as they leaned more to the touch of their mother.

"Now that how I survived and became queen is cleared out, I want to know…" before she could say anything else, a female shinigami busted into the room, panting and clearly shocked.

"Your majesty, prince, princesses" the woman said as she kneeled, "I have just received some startling news…central 46 was wiped out" she said, making Masaki frown and Ichigo to narrow his eyes, "Central 46…as the morons who condemn people for trivialities and make harsh laws? That central 46?" the female shinigami nodded.

"How it happened?" Masaki asked, instantly shifting of mother to ruler in an instant, something Karin noted faster than Yuzu or Ichigo.

"Is still on investigation, but preliminary evidence suggest that they were murdered by a lone shinigami, one Hinamori Momo, Lieutenant of the 5th division under command of Sosuke Aizen" the shinigami said, immediately Yoruichi stood up angrily at the mention of the man's name.

"Aizen you say?" the shinigami nodded once she saw the glare Yoruichi had directed to her, "Yes, captain of the 5th division for over fifty years…well liked among his peers" the shinigami said to Yoruichi, making the dark skinned woman scowl.

"That rat…always planning, always ready" she said with a hiss, looking at Ichigo, then all dawning to her in that moment, the reason why Unohana offered Hanatarou, the reason Fira was so eager to aid.

"_By the end of the day...all will change" _the words of Fira the day she summoned Shinji after Ichigo regained his powers rung in her mind and echoed now more than ever, "Shit…that dammed bird knew" she called, looking again at Ichigo.

"Fira must surely knew how things would play until this point, surely with the hell of Draconax" Yoruichi began, "She knew how things would turn…your fight with the captains, the separation, you encountering your mother, all has sense now…she knew perfectly well what would happen, or the possible outcomes and planned a solid plan, one that carried itself and that only required her to be present only, never moving a finger, just aiding when it was absolutely necessary, like when you reached limit, only then…she knew and we helped fulfill her plan" she added, looking at Masaki straight in the eyes.

"Your majesty" Yoruichi began, "I dare say that central 46 was not slaughtered by Hinamori Momo" Yoruichi stated as she leaned and was nearly nose to nose with Masaki, "I know who did it, and I have a plan to lure him out"

Much to the shock of her children, Masaki smirked at Yoruichi, "I'm listening"

* * *

Komamura pondered what to do as he made his way towards the hospital room of Yamamoto, the single thought of the captain-commander on a hospital bed made him ill in all honesty, in over 2000 years there hasn't been a shinigami or hollow strong enough to defeat the sotaichou, until Ichigo came and destroyed that record, not only that, he had fought captain Zaraki Kenpachi, and if the what Kenpachi kept murmuring in his unconscious yet loud state was true, he had stabbed Ichigo on the chest, but the boy hadn't fell at all.

Honestly he felt overwhelmed by all that has happened in just one day, the defeat of the captain-commander was a hot topic alongside the murder of every member of Central 46 by Hinamori Momo, albeit he doubts the last, even if she is a lieutenant, every member of central 46 is a shinigami capable of fighting, besides the countermeasures protecting the hall in which Central 46 was located should have stopped her.

There was so many questions in his mind that he didn't noticed he stumbled onto someone until it was a little too late.

"Uff" he cried, much to his surprise, there were little things that could made him exclaim surprise upon colliding with it, when he looked he realized why, he had collided with Retsu, the woman looking him with a serious stare, the same she had been giving to everyone who had delay her on her works.

"Oh Unohana-taichou, I am sorry" he began, trying to walk away, just to her to grab him by the cuff oh his haori and drag him to whenever she was going.

The sight of Unohana actually manhandling Komamura, a man or fox-man twice her height and triple her weight was something that made everyone look over and stare in shock.

Komamura himself was about to ask her what was all that about until he felt her stop pulling him, when he turned around he could only stare in mute shock where he was, the morgue.

Right there on the metallic table's lay 46 covered bodies, a blanket on top of each body, Komamura easily recognized them as the bodies of each member of central 46.

"Okay…I give up, why I am here?" he asked, Unohana simply moved to one of the corpses, removed the blanked and then pointed at the corpse, Komamura, while not trained to be a doctor or a medic like Unohana is, saw something that surprised him greatly.

"…is a stab wound…a single stab wound" he said slowly, Unohana then began to remove the covers one by one, all having the same pattern, stab wounds right at the hearts.

"What the hell?" he wondered out loud, "My thoughts exactly, every single one of them presents the same wound, a stab wound, a single one, the entry point varies in every one of them, the front, the back, it barely matters, what matters is the objective, the heart, the cause of death in them is a stab to the heart, the damage is extensive to the organ, no shinigami known, no matter how strong he or she is can survive a blow to the heart of that magnitude, whoever did this had it all planned" she stated with a frown on her face.

"You know that Aizen and Gin stated that Momo killed the members of central 46 with her _released _zanpakutou…have you seen her zanpakutou on her released form?" he nodded, "Please describe the blade and just the blade" she commanded.

"…a straight blade, like a small broadsword, there are…three jutte that sprang of the length of the blade" he said in a whisper, "Exactly, those jutte would have prevented a blade to go through and through, furthermore the jutte would have left visible marks on the flesh, something that is not visible, meaning?" she asked to Komamura.

"The accusation to Momo Hinamori about her being the murderer of central 46 is a lie" Komamura stated, "Yes…but we have to treat this evidence carefully, we could easily put her into unwanted danger" she said with a frown on her face.

"…I see… (Sigh) why I have the feeling this is all tied to Kurosaki" Unohana turned fast and stared at the fox-man shinigami, but she remained calm and collected by that news, "Is that so? Why you believe that?" she asked.

Komamura was very straightforward with his answer, something that Unohana took as a sign of trust, "…the guardian of wind…Anima presented itself to me in the shape of the Rayearth of wind, he overwhelmed me with ease…then he spoke to me, he mentioned that I should ask the sotaichou about the relation he has with the Kurosaki in general"

"You were heading to his room before I intercepted you" Komamura nodded, "I see…then go to him, but I warn you that you should ask him with caution, he is still too angry for his defeat, and me might take your questioning rather violently" her advice didn't fell on deaf ears, as Komamura took the words to the heart, he knew the risks of this, Yamamoto was like a bomb right now, anything could set him off, but it was a risk he was willing to take so he could learn the truth.

"I'll let you on a little secret…Komamura-kun" the voice of Unohana snapped him of his thoughts, turning around he saw her visage, serious and slightly stern, "Yes?"

"You're not the only one who a guardian has presented himself to, I have a mission of my own, one the guardian of fire herself gave to me, by this moment you must know the same I know, there is a traitor among our ranks, who we don't know, Fira only told me the names of the people I should trust on this, yours in it, I didn't called you before because she told me you would have a revelation of your own, now you have, and now you must know what I know, a traitor lies on the ranks of the captains, it is obvious now that the list is narrowed to three people" Unohana stated as she stared at the yellow eyes of Komamura.

"Aizen…Gin…Tousen? That can't be, Tousen has showed only loyalty to Seireitei and hasn't showed signs of hostility towards anyone" Komamura replied.

"Maybe, but he was conveniently around when they 'found' Momo in the chambers of central 46…until that moment I didn't suspected of them, but…" she let the sentence hang on the air, making Komamura frown at that, yet what she insinuated was perhaps the truth.

"Anyway the sotaichou has already dictated a sentence for Momo, she will be executed along with Rukia using the Sōkyoku" Komamura eyes widened at that, not believing what he heard, "That…is highly irregular, not only a shinigami that has no power and is not even near the ranks of a captain is going to be executed by using means reserved to captain-class traitors, but now a lieutenant was being condemned to the same fate.

With a sigh he asked the question surely many, including the Rayearth of fire was making as well.

"How much time they have?"

* * *

"Three days?" Hiyori muttered as munched a piece of chicken pie and stared at the bald shinigami of the 11th division, near him was the effeminate man that was swooning all over Orihime silk like hair and Uryuu's Quincy clothes, which he said where 'fit for a beautiful prince' meaning him.

"Counting from today that is, the sotaichou said that both would be executed per our laws" the bald shinigami said with a serious stare to Hiyori, the blond girl just narrowed her eyes as her fang poked out of her lips.

"That can't be good…Ichigo must have give the sotaichou quite a beat out to force him like that, as far as I knew we still had at least half a month to rescue Rukia" Hiyori stated, not even caring that she had basically told that they were the Ryoka that were invading Seireitei and were in league with the Rayearth of fire.

But Ikkaku Madarame already knew who they were, and truth to be told he didn't care, all the situation truth to be told reeked of spoiled shit, if that existed, true he is a shinigami, true he follows orders, but he also and individual, he thinks, and also had a 'chat' with Retsu Unohana after his battle with Ichigo, if could be called a chat at all, it had been more of a warning of the captain to him and Yumichika.

"_Things are about to change, Madarame-san, a great deal will change, there will be conflict and your division will spear point the battles ahead, but the question here is, right now, which side you take? Choose wisely, next time I might decide to kill you for being the enemy"_

He didn't knew why, but he felt a chill, one far worse that any shinigami of the 11th division under the care of Unohana had ever felt before, unlike those times however, he knew she would exact that promise on his person, and she would succeed.

Either way he knew he had chosen well when he realized that the people in front of him were in fact the Ryoka accompanying Ichigo, how he knew? Simple, first of all there is no woman with a rack like the one of Orihime, Rangiku Matsumoto is quite famous for her bust size, a woman with her same rack would be noticed in less than a day, second the boy basically oozed 'angst waves' no shinigami oozes 'angst waves' that and he saw the white uniform under the shinigami robes, and third the little girl…the girl who had shinigami AND hollow reiatsu mixed, just like Ichigo's own reiatsu, that's how he realized he was around the Ryoka.

"That's rash…but clever, the sotaichou is hoping to lure Kurosaki to him by this short span of time, even more, now there are two people that are going to be executed the same day, in the same place, at the same time, Kurosaki will have his hands full by just handling one, but two will be a problem, Rayearth or not" Uryuu said with a thoughtful look.

"Obviously the sotaichou had this planned for some time, he knew that one day he would cross paths with a knight and had a trap set up" he added with a grimace.

"That might explain why he called all captains to assist to the executions, regardless of physical state and included their lieutenants…he needs all the muscle he can muster if he hopes to overwhelm Ichigo, he learned of his last fight, in a fair fight the knight will always win" Ikkaku replied, obviously replying his own conclusion of his last fight against Ichigo.

"What an ugly strategy, no beauty or flawless lines of plot to follow, so crude and rude" Yumichika replied with a small frown on his face.

"It doesn't need to be pretty to work" Uryuu replied to Yumichika, "Ichigo is strong, I admit, his reiatsu paralyzed me and surely would have paralyzed any hollow that felt it out of fear, but he will be taking the captains of all the divisions, thirteen captains, not counting their lieutenants, it will be barely a fair fight" he added.

"But Kurosaki-kun can win…right?" the three males looked at Orihime seriously, in less than a second Orihime understood why they had such faces, Ichigo could not win that.

At least not alone.

"…we must help him" she stated a minute of silence later, shocking both shinigamis and Quincy.

* * *

"Come again?"

"We must help him Ganju, alone he will fall" Chad replied, it was perhaps to Nanao, the first time she had heard Chad talk that much, it was either grunts, short sentences with a lot of meaning or more grunts with a lot of meaning, and his fists making the talk, she's still resenting the fist he rammed to her stomach on their last training, for a person without shinigami powers and power that resembled greatly to that of a hollow without the harmful effects on the soul, he was more than a match to any shinigami, and with a proper training he could easily challenge and defeat lieutenants and Menos–class Gillians with ease.

Right now she was seeing how Chad and Ganju were discussing the news her captain had told them, not only Rukia would be executed in three days, a great shortening of the time she had allotted to do 'penitence' but also Momo would be joining her in the execution for her supposed crime against central 46.

All this only reaffirmed her suspicious that Unohana had arose the day she called several captains to the sewers to talk, there was indeed a traitor among the captain ranks, Kenpachi had delivered, Shunsui had delivered, Unohana had delivered, only Ukitake was missing on his promise, but all was falling together, and that mere thought scared her.

She had seen the devastation Ichigo lay on his rampage, where he surfaced and basically mauled three divisions alone just because his sisters were kidnapped, Soi-Fong was still having nightmares of that, but the devastation of the clash between the captain-commander, Kenpachi and Ichigo made her really wary of things, and to sum things up the sotaichou had called all the captains and lieutenants to assist in the execution.

It was obviously a trap, one Ichigo would walk in knowing what to expect, but no one knew if he would get away of it safely.

"The sotaichou has never been so keen on being subtle" her captain said, looking behind her she saw a rare sight, her captain serious and not wearing that lazy smile of his, "He is a firm believer that all problems, no matter how small have to be dealt with the upmost brutal and definite way possible, it sometimes annoy me, why do you think the Quincy wars were so damn bloody, the Quincy didn't bowed to his terms, so he commanded every able shinigami to kill them, luckily at least five families of Quincy's escaped the massacre, one of them being the Ishida" Shunsui replied.

"Yes…then what now?" Nanao asked, not liking at all the look Shunsui was giving to her, it was a not pervert stare, it was more feral, and it scare the crap out of her.

"Simple…Nanao-chan"

* * *

"We train" Yoruichi said while staring at Ichigo and his sisters, "All of us, that include your sisters"

"Oh hell no, I put my foot on this" Ichigo said, standing up and staring at Yoruichi straight in the eyes, the dark skinned woman didn't even budged when Ichigo's reiatsu followed his statement and tried to flatten her, the only reason that didn't happened it was because it was too fast and Masaki had flared her own reiatsu, drowning Ichigo's reiatsu, if barely, Yoruichi had to admit, it was only because Ichigo's reiatsu was so wild that Masaki had such a hard time drowning it with her own, and since Ichigo's reiatsu was so closely linked to his Rayearth powers, meaning his fire, every strong emotion fueled more his reiatsu.

"Ichigo-chan, enough!" Masaki snapped, immediately Ichigo relented, but kept a steely gaze on Yoruichi, "I know you want to protect your sisters, so do I" Masaki began, her eyes strong but filled with remorse, "But right now you have to realize that they are like you, they have power, power to defend, power to protect, I know both of them felt helpless knowing they had no way to defend themselves against the shinigami who kidnapped them and knew that you would be lured to them" Masaki began.

"Ichigo-chan, I really don't want it either, I love my daughters as much as I love you, the only reason I don't keep you three here for your safety is because one, you are a Rayearth, I doubt there is a barrier that can keep you down, especially with that on your wrist" Masaki said, pointing at Ichigo's right wrist, right there still lay the prayer beads that formed the cannonball.

"Second, I doubt Karin will remain idle, now she has power to defend, like you, and she will use it" Karin smirked at that, "And third I doubt Yuzu will let you two troublemakers go all alone" so said troublemakers just glared at Masaki with a pout on their faces, while Yuzu looked flustered, but rather proud, "Besides, you're not going alone, I'm going in as well"

"Oh no queen, out of the question" Ichigo was surprised, as Masaki, Yuzu, Karin and Yoruichi when her own guard basically scolded her for such thoughts.

"And why shouldn't I go outside?" Masaki asked, "Queen we don't know the dangers of this, if this 'Aizen' is really what Yoruichi-sama claims, it would be better to you to remain here, safe"

Masaki just furrowed her brow, "I'll have none of it, I will go outside and help rescue the girl that ensnared my Ichigo-chan's heart"

"KAA-CHAAAAN!" Ichigo exclaimed with a heavy blush, but Masaki seemed to zone out once she glanced at her son.

"Uh…Kaa-chan?" Ichigo asked to her apparently zombified mother…

"KAWAI!"

"WHA! LET GO! I'M NOT CUTE!"

"You look just like your father when he declared himself to me, so cute!" Masaki declared while smothering Ichigo, Yoruichi smirked by obvious reasons, while the male guards just muttered the following sentence, by obvious reasons.

"Lucky bastard"

Masaki had basically shoved her son's face on her bosom, which seemed odd for Ichigo to not detach from, considering his inhuman strength, but Masaki's grip on his had seemed to be too much for him, and was unable so far to do so.

"Kaa-chan" Yuzu began, "Yes dear?"

"You're breaking his neck and suffocating him" Karin replied in a dry tone of voice, Masaki looked in panic to see that indeed she nearly broke Ichigo's neck and suffocate him into unconsciousness.

"…Just like his dad" was all she replied as she dragged her unconscious son towards one of the chairs and lay him there to rest.

"…Yoruichi" Masaki began, running a hand on her son's orange spiky hair, "I will allow you access to the training halls of the palace, I want my children to be prepared for anything, I want my girls to be able to fight as a team and control their reiatsu and along with my son to move as fast as you" Yoruichi blinked owlishly at Masaki, did the woman knew what was she was asking her? She didn't became the goddess of flash step in just a day, and she expects her to teach her three children, which turn to be part of the royal family how to fight and move as fast as her?

"With all due respect…are you drunk?" Yoruichi asked, making Masaki growl, "I am not, I haven't drink ever since I married Isshin…come to think of it I don't remember much of our honeymoon, just that it was damn good" Masaki muttered out loud, making Yoruichi and her guard to sweat drop.

"But I am serious in what I am asking you, if they are as much as they are to me and Isshin, they will take the lessons like sponges, besides" Masaki began, "I can't send the guard with them to help them; if I could I would but…" Masaki began, looking at Yoruichi straight in her eyes.

"Come…I must show you what really lies in the palace" with that Masaki directed Yoruichi to wherever the woman went; Yoruichi suddenly felt such a foreboding feeling, like if she was about to glance at something forbidden, something that she, like any other ordinary shinigami outside the palace should never see, or even glance.

"…Okay"

* * *

"I still believe is a bad idea to ally with that woman Aizen-sama" Tousen stated to the man at his side, while blind he was well aware who was around him and to whom direct his words to.

"Have faith Tousen, our alliance with her will pay off, while I admit I don't trust her either, she knows too much" Aizen replied, glancing then at Harribel, the hollow…

"_No…Arrancar"_ he thought as he stared at the anti-thesis of the vizards, they were the only conceivable comparison he could come up with, where the vizards where shinigami who gained hollow like powers, Arrancars were in fact the opposite, hollows gaining shinigami powers, two different beings with such similarities.

"I agree with Tousen-sama, Aizen-sama, that woman…is something different, she seeks another goal, we are just means for a purpose" Harribel stated firmly, her arms crossed over her greatly generous bosom, something Gin noted was comparable to the one of Rangiku.

"Oh come on Harribel-chan, I would expect those pessimist thoughts of Ulquiorra, but of you?" Gin slightly mocked, Harribel just frowned, "That woman seeks something else, we are just pawns to her, expendable" Harribel explained.

"I know" Aizen began, "She seeks the capture or the destruction of the Rayearth of fire, Ichigo" Aizen began, "She saw us as a more direct way to accomplish her goal, after that…well I care little, our paths don't cross after that" Aizen said, "But I know that she is not alone, and she will try to double-cross us, she saw what the Hōgyoku can do, I saw it on her eyes, she wants it, but to gain our trust she gave it to us, but she will try to steal it, so we must be alert, and when that happens, Harribel" Aizen said as he directed his gaze to the blonde Arrancar.

"You can eliminate her anyway you see fit" he stated.

"As you command, Aizen-sama" she slightly bowed, then looked at the man, "Aizen-sama…what about the knight…even in Hueco Mundo stories are told about them, what if she fails?" she asked.

"…Hard to tell…he overpowered Kenpachi and Yamamoto, and if stories are to believe, he might be more than a match to even the king…I know that the ambush of the hill will have the objective to weaken him or kill him, only the first will happen, and there she will strike, if she fails, and Ichigo proves to be…and obstacle…we remove him as well, better to have the path clear than to have one full or obstacles" Aizen exclaimed.

"Our path is already full of obstacles, the path to peace, true peace will always have obstacles" Tousen replied, making Gin to mentally roll his eyes, the man was being used and he wasn't even aware because he was blinded by his so called 'righteous' quest to peace, while he could see in ways no person or hollow could, his vision of 'peace' had him blinded, really blinded.

Gin, on the other hand knew that after the three days all would change, and his plan would be set in motion, all he needed to do was to bide his time, after all he has been bidding his time for the past hundred years, he could wait a little more.

All he needed was for the Rayearth to prove to be more than able to fend off everyone, if Ichigo succeeded, then all was a matter of time.

_After all, a boy with such strong eyes as he can't fail, he won't"_

* * *

Karin knew beforehand that when Yoruichi returned, she looked deadly pale, but seemed to have an awed look on her face, whatever her mum showed Yoruichi was enough to keep the woman silent for the whole trek to the training halls, once in the halls she saw in awe, just like Yuzu that they are in a place that seemed to resemble a barren wasteland with a lot of cliffs and rocks, and a single steaming pool of water on one of the corners of the room.

"This place resembles too much the training area that is under Urahara's shop" Ichigo stated, "The day he left Seireitei, he left behind several notes, those including the construction blueprints of a training ground and the healing waters, we took some liberties and made our own, a little better, and ever since the guard uses this place to train" Masaki began.

"I remember well that I ended with a lot of sore body parts, and your uncle took every chance he get when I was in the healing waters to make a move, not that any worked" Masaki began, electing a triple growl of her children, it seemed they have some jealous issues concerning her and their dead uncle, not that she could blame them, they seemed to be as jealous as their father, which is saying something.

"It will do" Yoruichi simply said as she scanned the area, then turning to her three new students, _"This will be either fun or too much of a pain"_

"Okay you three, we have three days from now on to put you into shape, that means to make shinigami out of you" Yoruichi began, "You got the concept of combat well grasped, but some enemies can't be simply taken by using overwhelming powers" she said.

"Speed and skill are also required; you won so far because you had the elements of surprise on your sides, that and the overwhelming need of revenge of your opponents clouding their sights, along with pride and bloodlust, but in three days they will be focused on the task at hand, which is stopping Ichigo at all cost, to defeat him no matter the cost, the fact you two were kidnapped shows the lengths they will go to do so…not that it went well" Yoruichi said with some amusement, she had seen it all and was clearly spooked after seeing the destruction an enraged Rayearth with still little control over his powers could do.

"So I will train you hard and fast, in three days I will turn you into a cohesive force capable of fighting together and alone if needed and hold your own, to move faster than them, to think ahead of them, it won't be easy, but trust me I will make sure that you are ready to what is to come" Yoruichi said, taking a fighting stance.

"Okay you three, draw your blades, all of them, and attack me; I will see how good you really are" Yoruichi said, gaining some odd looks from the three children of Masaki.

"Don't worry about it, Yoruichi is a very capable fighter, she was once the captain of the 2nd division and commander of the Onmitsukidou division, basically ninjas" Masaki began, Fira, still in her avian form, and perched on Masaki's shoulder perked at that.

"**Ninjas? I bet they are lame"** To Yoruichi, who had led the unit it was not the thing to say, "Excuse me? I use to lead elite forces" she exclaimed.

"**Yeah right, well I have you know that one Rayearth is in fact a ninja, one honest ninja, from the all disappearing act to transforming and using shuriken and all that, albeit with all that orange on he is not exactly stealth material, but hell if you can vanish while wearing orange you can basically hide from anyone" **Fira stated, making Yoruichi raise an eyebrow.

"Anyway, ignoring the fact that Ichigo's possible ally wears orange…"

"**An orange jumpsuit"**

"That…and he isn't stealthy…"

"**He has spiky blond hair, blue azure eyes, tanned skin, three whisker marks on each cheek"**

"Thanks for describing it, now as I was saying…"

"**He is also loud"**

"WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT YOU OVERGROWN CANARY!"

Fira actually smirked at Yoruichi, making the woman to growl like a cat and fancy some thoughts of her in her cat form basically mauling Fira in her avian form.

"_Oh yeah…happy place"_

After going to her happy place, she motioned the three accidental shinigami in front of her to draw their weapons, "Okay kids, try to hit me with everything you three got, I will see what to work on you from there" Yoruichi began.

Karin and Yuzu were not so much certain of attacking Yoruichi, after all she had saved them of being bombed to death, but Ichigo had little problem doing that.

"Pluvia Incendia!" the goddess of flash step showed how she earned her nickname as she basically vanished before the rain of fire incinerate her, yet she was impressed, a radial attack of such power had enough power to destroy a Menos-Grande army easily, she noted that Ichigo's power had grown even more since the last time she saw him fight.

"_The rate his strength and skill grows…is insane"_ she thought with utter amusement, she was fighting a prodigy in all the sense, the youngest soul society has ever seen, more because he is fifteen years old, a baby compare to shinigami and spirit age, he grew fast, way too fast, maybe…

"HIYAAA!" Yoruichi Shunpo'ed again, avoiding the high kick of Karin, yet she was able to see the devastation her released Zanpakutou could do, as the crater in which Karin now stood showed.

"_That's a nasty kick, if only she could remain a little quiet while doing that" _Yoruichi thought, then turning fast she launched a roundhouse kick to the sneaking Yuzu, it had not much strength behind it, just enough to launch the shinigami girl away, yet Yoruichi found herself petrified in shock when her left leg stopped dead on its tracks when it made contact with the released form of Yuzu's Zanpakutou, then without any delay she was launched away, and unlike Yuzu who was launched as well, she landed well and with grace, unlike Yuzu who landed on her butt, yet Yoruichi saw a lot on just that move.

"_She is quite able on stealth, the only thing that gave her away was her lack of training on both stealth and controlling her reiatsu, in fact both girls are like Ichigo, they have some hard time controlling their massive reiatsu, yet Yuzu seems able to control hers better, even more, her zanpakutou is quite unique, it reflected my attack, back to me, Yuzu felt the recoil of such attack, but I felt the damage that was meant to her, it can do the same with zanpakutous and Kido spells?" _a plan was already brewing in her head, all that needed was some fine tuning.

"Telum Incendia!" Yoruichi easily bended backwards, avoiding the fireball that sailed in front of her, yet she felt the intensity of the heat of the fireball, righting herself up, Yoruichi rose her hands to block the vicious blow of Karin, Yoruichi there noted that Karin's kicks were enough to basically kill anything bellow lieutenant shinigami class with just one blow, kill a lieutenant with a well placed blow on the head, and a captain with perhaps two, after all the head is the central processor of the body, sufficient damage to it will cause irreversible damage, death in extreme cases.

Karin by her part looked shocked that Yoruichi was able to block her kick, while it had been able to split rocks it was unable to even force Yoruichi back, her surprise and hesitation were of course capitalized by the far more experienced woman who grabbed her armored leg and began to swing her around, Karin screaming all while the way.

Ichigo jumped at Yoruichi, Zangetsu ready to cut the woman down, only to the woman to flicker away at even a faster speed than Yamamoto or Byakuya had ever moved, Ichigo slashed an empty spot, and then grunted in pain when Karin was slammed to his side, sending both tumbling to the ground, groaning.

Yoruichi simply stared at Ichigo and Karin, then at the shocked Yuzu, and sighed, "These are going to be some really long days" she muttered as she stalked Yuzu, "Just because you're a little girl, sister of the Rayearth knight and daughter of the spirit queen doesn't mean I will go light with you…in fact I'm going to push you more" the nasty looking smirk on Yoruichi's face didn't help to ease Yuzu's nor Masaki's worries.

* * *

Isane left the room of Zaraki Kenpachi with a huff of annoyance, while she was glad that his fight against Ichigo had somewhat mellowed his lust of battle, if even a little, it didn't mellowed his stubbornness, the captain, stubborn as he is wanted to leave the hospital now, she had to remind him that Unohana-taichou was not exactly in the best of moods due to the influx of wounded that she had to attend, most of them not attending her warning of steering away of the Rayearth, but of course, like in the human world, no one listen the doctor warning only until you suffer the consequences.

The fact that Kenpachi stopped his struggling just after she mentioned Unohana-taichou meant that he was genuinely afraid of her, that or held a healthy respect for her and didn't want to ruin that, considering that Kenpachi didn't respected authority like many shinigami around, it was surely the first option, and she couldn't blame him, Unohana-taichou, when she wanted it, could be quite fearsome, the fact she had the sotaichou still remained in the hospital even after he ordered Unohana to release him meant that not even the most powerful shinigami had a sway when it came to Unohana and her hospital.

As she glanced at the full moon, she wondered what would happen from here on out, she knew that Ichigo would not stand for the execution, the fact that the date was being widely broadcasted, along with the calling of all the captains to assist to the execution, it was obviously a trap, they had the bait, question was the prey would take the bait.

"_Of course he will, he stormed Seireitei with the only focus of saving her, he would save her even if she was in hell"_ she thought, many shinigami women had seen Ichigo's storming Seireitei to save Rukia like a romantic setting straight out of a novel, albeit the many screams of 'SHE AIN'T MY GIRLFRIEND' sounded once in a while, many girls whished that they were in Rukia's place, and in her place meant being saved by a good-looking boy who can level half of the world on a temper tantrum, Isane had to admit, that display of power to a shinigami women is quite hot.

As she made her way around the halls, humming a tune and wondering if the influx of wounded shinigami had finally come to an end, she never noticed the tall figure behind her.

Retsu Unohana, just by sheer luck happened to be nearby Isane when it happened, and she walked in she was shocked by the sight so much that she didn't even unsheathed her zanpakutou.

Right in the middle of the halls, holding Isane on a chokehold and pointing a zanpakutou on her stomach stood Isshin Kurosaki, looking as every bit the shinigami he is, powerful, standing proud, and with a piss off face, the same face the very few conscious shinigami reported Ichigo had right when he emerged of the ground like a demon from the bowels of hell itself.

"Hello Retsu" Isshin began, turning to face her, "This is how is going to play now, you're going to help me find my daughters and my son, or Isane dies"

Retsu Unohana, for a first time in a long time, felt unable to do a thing, only sigh.

**Day two…**

Yoruichi blocked a kick of Karin easily, then rising her right leg she blocked a blow of Yuzu, her smirk remained even when both girls blurred out of sight, then appeared behind her, Yoruichi simply black flipped an avoided the blow, just to gasp when she landed and her legs tripped on something, catching herself in mid-fall, Yoruichi saw that Karin had actually tried to hit her, but Yuzu had stayed behind, and simply had tripped her by rising her feet to met hers, it was a childish, yet so simple and effective way to catch the enemy off guard.

"Good work girls, you're advancing fast, but you have a long way to go" Yoruichi said, if she said herself she was surprised by the speed the Kurosaki siblings learned, Ichigo had learned Shunpo quite fast, at almost a surreal rate, while his sisters learned at a more moderate rate, they had grasped it faster than any other shinigami, besides, unlike Ichigo who was actually working on a secret training program with his mom, Yoruichi began to focus on other aspects of combat, while Ichigo, able to actually fire a Cero and basically summon every know and not know flame to do battle with him, sucked in the kido arts, simple as that, maybe it was the massive amount of reiatsu that gave him this handicap, she didn't knew, or maybe because unlike other shinigami, Ichigo had been a shinigami roughly a month or more, he was unable to use kido arts, but his sisters, oh his sisters were another story altogether.

She was pleased to see that where their brother failed, the girls succeeded, they had soaked on the kido arts like he had done to Shunpo, while the girls had learned kido 1 to 30, and Hado 1 to 4, the girls knew how to use both areas at their advantage, surely because unlike their brother, they can't take insane amounts of damage point-blank, so they decided to work as a team, using their skills to overwhelm their opponent and not relentlessly attack their opponent and send everything to oblivion like their brother, it is a solid strategy.

"SAI!" Yoruichi felt the usual tugging of the binding spell on her arms, trying to cut one of her means of defense, an intelligent approach, but Yoruichi, being more experimented on combat, and with Yuzu's weak binding spell, she was able to break free, and just in time to block and grab Karin roundhouse kick, then use Karin as a makeshift bat to hit Yuzu with, sending both girls crashing to the ground, groaning in pain.

"I told you a million times Yuzu, put more energy on the spell, it might work against a normal human being an unseated shinigami, but I was a captain at one time, and it requires more than the first binding spell to stop me" Yoruichi called loudly, seeing how the smoke settled down, and then blink in surprise, only Karin was present, Yuzu wasn't.

"…Okay, that is new" she muttered, then blinked more when the sash of her pants was undone, and her baggy pants fell of her legs, "What the…"

"SHO!" unlike her sister, Yuzu always put a lot of herself in her spells, reason why Yoruichi felt like Ichigo had punched her on the stomach when the basic spell hit her in the stomach, sailing in the air she saw how Yuzu began to appear out of thin air, recognizing the spell she used on herself as Kyokko, a spell that basically bended light and hid the user, not only that, it also hid the reiatsu of the caster, making him basically invisible.

"_Clever" _Yoruichi thought, her opinion changed more when both girls casted the same spell, at the same time.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself in horror and then claw out your own throat: Geki!"

Yoruichi felt her whole body stiffen, the 9 level spell doing its magic, even more since it was casted by two girls, it was two layers of the same spell, she smirked at herself, and these girls brought the word teamwork hard.

"Good work girls" Yoruichi said, breaking of the double layer spell with ease, shocking both girls, "Against lieutenants that will work, but remember you will have to strike them down in order to win, I don't say outright kill them, just knock them down" Yoruichi seeing the shocked expression of Yuzu.

"But you did good, but against a captain, well you will need to bring out the big guns, I don't say this was bad, but it will only give you a second, maybe less of an opening, so use it wisely" Yoruichi reminded, "Also remember you have zanpakutous and their special abilities, that will tip the balance to your favor, no one beyond these halls has seen what your zanpakutous can do, so you will have a great advantage, capitalize it" Yoruichi replied to her young students, she wouldn't admit it, but it was good to pass the knowledge she had.

**BOOM!**

The three girls just looked upwards, then sighed, knowing that Masaki and Ichigo kept training hard, Masaki had mentioned something about a powerful attack that was actually part of the family, what it was she didn't knew, Isshin kept under wraps most of his abilities, much to Urahara's annoyance sometimes, but it had to be something powerful because Masaki had mentioned it would be more than enough to do the job, besides she had mentioned that Ichigo had used it several times without knowing what it was really, so it was weak comparing it to a fully learned attack.

When Yoruichi was about to continue her training, she saw how Masaki and Ichigo blurred in front of her, she blinked owlishly at the state of their clothes, all torn up and their bodies full of cuts, now she knew why Isshin married Masaki instead of Unohana, Masaki, while a human, a mortal, was not afraid of getting wounded, evidence of this was the fact she took a blow that was meant for Ichigo when he was just a little boy.

"Sorry Yoruichi-san, but now I'm going to train my daughters" Masaki said, making Yoruichi raise an eyebrow, did really Masaki was going to teach them the same she taught Ichigo?

"Okay…Ichigo you're with me, you look like crap, you need some rest" Yoruichi declared, making Ichigo blink, "Yoruichi-san, I have no time to rest" Ichigo began, "Oh yes you do, just because you are a knight doesn't mean you're invincible, you need to realize of your limits, in fact you haven't slept at all, you need to recover" Yoruichi pointed out while poking his chest hard.

"Okay, okay…I can't believe it I got my mother back and other one is taking her place"

"What was that?"

"Nothing…uh, Yoruichi-san?"

"Yes?"

"PUT ON SOME UNDERWEAR!"

* * *

Renji moved around the training ground, the place was well hidden and had a barrier around it to hide reiatsu of any amount; it was the perfect place to train with no one bothering you, and to add it had a hot spring, healing hot springs, his previous wounds and soreness after…that, had healed quite nicely, in fact all that remained of that incident was the horrible nightmares he had once in a while regarding it.

Shacking those thoughts aside he stared at the horizon that was the training grounds, his haori open and exposing a network of tattoos that extended all over his torso, his zanpakutou in hand and staring at Zabimaru, his materialized zanpakutou form in front of him, the part goat part snake stared at him in open defiance.

"You believe that with this current power you will have a chance against Byakuya, let alone Ichigo and Zangetsu?" the snake tail of Zabimaru snapped at Renji, "Again!"

And again he tried, he pushed himself to subdue his materialized zanpakutou, he pushed himself harder than he had ever pushed himself, for Rukia, for himself, for his pride, for the will to surpass Byakuya, to defeat him, to defeat Ichigo, to end their battle, he had a lot of catching up to do, but he would catch up, he had little time, and a lot of will.

"Is she that important?" Zabimaru asked, "You know the answer already Zabimaru, she and I…went through a lot, is not like the bond you and I share" Zabimaru growled at that.

"Is greatly different, we grew together, we lived together, we survived together, but eventually I had to let her go, because I knew she had better chances than me, it hurt, yes, a lot, I care for her, but in time I realized that she cared for me in a different way, not in the way I care for her" Renji muttered, then stared hard at Zabimaru.

"But I guess that's what you do for those you care; you let them go when needed, and help them whenever you can" Renji said, "But…if I want to help Rukia I have to become stronger, strong enough to challenge a captain, strong enough to protect her, even more, strong enough to defeat anyone who would try to harm her" Renji stated.

"…And if I have to help Ichigo then I will, I'm not stupid, I can't do this alone" Renji stated firmly, staring at Zabimaru, and then turning to his left.

"Isn't that right…Shinji-sensei?"

His only answer was a toothy smile.

* * *

"What you're saying is ridiculous" Isshin stated as he stared sternly at Unohana.

"I am only saying what I know so far, no bodies, no blood, it means your son escaped with your daughters of the battlefield, I myself scanned the area…a Senkaimon was opened in a spot where the trail of blood of your son ended, someone helped them" Unohana stated, staring straight at Isshin eyes.

She would be lying if she said that she didn't missed him, in fact she did miss him, she cared for him, but things are different now, he is different now, so is she, whatever past they had before died the day he vanished and was buried when he married Masaki, besides the woman he had once met what just an illusion, something crafted to contain the real Retsu, to keep away the past and the knowledge of something that both knew well enough.

She had seen the process that allowed a hollow to become a plus, oddly enough it didn't require profaning something or dwelling into dark rituals or something like that, it required a simple talisman and an insane amount of energy to do so, reason why might explain why the former Rayearth had done the ritual during noon, when the sun was at its apex, and was giving more power, maybe the ritual itself was suicidal since a Rayearth had to use the power of the sun itself to not die, and even in that weakened state, the Rayearth trashed her and the sotaichou like nothing.

"Could you trace the Senkaimon location?" the question of Isshin brought her back to the matter at hand, his children, in a sense she was envious of Masaki, she was able to give Isshin what she at one time feared, and regretted not giving him later, a family.

"I wasn't able, it was shielded I'm afraid, and trying to enlist the aid of our resident mad scientist would only carry more problems than he is worth, and I'm sure you don't want to see your children on the slab" she said as plainly as possible, the reputation of Mayuri was well deserved, as bad as it is.

"Then what" Isshin asked sternly, "Then we wait" she said simply, "Your son will return, of that I have little doubt" she began, "He has compromised himself on saving Kuchiki-san and helping us in luring the traitor out, his actions will prove to be the turning point on our society, even more when his lineage is revealed" Unohana continued, unaware of the stern look of Isshin.

"Sooner or later someone will put the pieces like I did, and unlike me they won't be so tight lipped, they will say it to the four winds, basically taunting you of your legacy, your birthright" she added, there Isshin grew bitter.

"Is not a birthright, is a curse" he stated, "Like the curse of the shinigami, I have heard of shinigami falling in love of humans, but our longevity proves to be a curse, we can't be like them, join them, love them, in the end our bodies in the human realm is a Gigai that can be toss aside once it has met its purpose, we can't die like them, we can't die in our sleep at their side, we can't be together in the afterlife like they can, we can't age as they do, is our curse" She stated, "And your son and Rukia are now part of it as well"

"I know…to think that he of all people would fall in love first, I always imagined it would be Yuzu or Karin, they are girls, more prone to fall in love, more at their age, but my son?"

"Your son is special, and I'm not just saying it because he has leveled half of Seireitei on his personal war, he might not admit it, but he likes her, that will evolve into love, in time, the question of course is he will accept those feelings, I recall he is as stubborn as you" Retsu said with a soft smile.

"…How we ended up talking about my son love life?" she laughed softly at that, "Simple…it all connects, and all will come together, tomorrow at noon"

"Yeah…at noon…all will change"

* * *

Toshiro had to basically bury himself in work to try and divert his thoughts of going to Momo, the fact he was worried sick of his oldest friend was not missed by Rangiku, his lieutenant.

While she found the behavior of Toshiro to be nearly the same before the Rayearth of fire decided that the life of Rukia Kuchiki was worth blasting Seireitei apart, shredding their ranks and stomping his rules, she found odd that so far Toshiro hadn't tried to feel a cope of her.

True she had hit him several times…okay made it a lot of times, it seemed puberty finally arrived to her captain, and had hit him full force, he had felt her at least fifty times ever since the Rayearth of fire had arrived, and while she found herself flattered by his usual charming words (something that had totally caught her off guard) the fact his hands were always cold and always seemed to slip on her flesh made her jump and moan at the same time, cold wandering hands belonging to a teen with a sudden need to feel every single thing with curves, boobs and a butt simply and downright annoy her, and not to mention Momo, before she was imprisoned, she had basically trashed Toshiro for feeling her butt, how he was able to slip his hands under her robes, straight to her bare butt is anyone's guess, the fact she didn't need her zanpakutou to make Toshiro cry uncle made the affair a lot scarier, and the fact that he still felt Momo while on a full nelson was even scarier.

But what had Matsumoto worried was that ever since Momo was imprisoned, Toshiro had reverted to his former self, cold, distant, and burying himself on paperwork, while she admits she missed the old Toshiro, the new Toshiro had found a place in her heart…as a party partner, she never imagined that the cold prodigy child could party so hard, the first time they partied, her legs were sore for so much dancing, and damn he could hold his liquor, she knew he should have prevent him of drinking sake, but as a shinigami and overall a spirit that basically will age at a very slow rate and die only with the most horrible wounds, drinking some sake was not a crime, especially to the young captain.

But he drowned five barrels; it should be criminal to drink like that.

In any case, the current shift of personality of her captain worried her greatly, she admired him, it would be a lie to tell she didn't, true they were different, before and after the Rayearth coming, and true she had her sights set on Gin while he had his set on Momo, and she would be lying if she told someone that she wasn't worried about Momo.

She had heard that Momo had been tossed into the penance tower, another one mind you, she was originally going to share the one Rukia was in, but that changed when the guards and Momo stumbled on the beheaded bodies of the guards of Rukia cell, Momo had basically begged the guards to toss her to another cell, they complied, mostly because they knew that if they died while guarding Momo, at least it would be a clean death, not having their heads ripped off their necks.

In any case, Momo, unlike Rukia would not have the time of grace, or the equivalent of one for them, tomorrow at noon both of them would be executed, surely that had Toshiro at a crossroads.

"Taichou?" Matsumoto asked, Toshiro kept his sights on the paperwork.

"…UH…about Momo…" Toshiro seemed to tense up, even a little, something that Matsumoto noted, "…What…are you going to do…" before she was able to end the sentence, the chill like reiatsu of her taichou flooded the area, drowning her words and her thoughts, the fact Toshiro was shacking while unleashing his reiatsu meant he knew what she wanted to speak about, but he didn't want to talk about it.

Or so she believed, ten seconds later, the reiatsu died down, and her captain sighed, a heavy sigh, like if he had the world on his shoulders.

"I know…Matsumoto" he began, holding the pen on his right hand, hard.

"But you're not on my shoes; you can't imagine how I feel!" Toshiro snarled, tossing his pen, and part of his paperwork tower away.

"I'm a captain of the Gotei 13 dammit, I of all shinigami must upheld the law of Soul Society, the laws the king set, that's why I have to face the Rayearth knight on combat tomorrow, because he has broken enough laws to get him kill over a thousand times" Toshiro began, "But he is your direct opposite on power, he is your anti-thesis" Rangiku stated.

"And people say blondes are dumb" he muttered loud enough so the over-busty Rangiku could hear.

"Yes, he is my direct opposite in every sense of power, I control ice, he controls fire, two forces that naturally clash, enemies by nature" he said, "And you know about natural enemies, we fight until one stands, that's why I have to fight him…to stop him of saving Rukia…and Momo" he said, his aquamarine eyes basically burying themselves on her own.

"On the other hand, Momo is my friend, I grew up with her, I know her better than anyone else, dammit we basically shared the same bed for five years until she began to develop boobs and I began to pour my reiatsu around, I ate watermelons with her on hot days, we played with the spinning tops, we basically did all things together, when she became a shinigami, you can believe that I wanted to stop her dead on her tracks, to prevent her of going a path that has only one end, death, you of all people should know better" Toshiro stated, Rangiku nodded, between Hisagi, Gin and Toshiro she had enough experience in that regard.

"And she is going to be executed" he added; "Now you see? On one hand I have my duty as captain, to uphold and protect the laws and ways of Seireitei, thus I have to face the Rayearth who is going to rescue Rukia and in extension rescue Momo, on the other hand I am Momo's closest friend, besides you and grandma Momo is the closest thing I have to a family, I have a duty with her, to protect her, now you see why I am worried, I am not worried about the execution itself, but of what I am going to do?" he added, running a hand on his snow spiky hair.

"I know you're not exactly a counseling guru"

"HEY!"

"But…I don't know who else I can turn to, Gin, Tousen and Aizen were present when apparently Momo killed the last member of the 46 and tried to attack Aizen, I can't turn to them to help her, even if Momo is Aizen's subordinate…then is the rest, in any instance they had been on contact with the Rayearth, his friends or his family, Soi-Fong is regretting ever kidnapping his sisters, Mayuri is cursing the Rayearth for burning his lab, Kenpachi still has that stupid grin even while unconscious, Gin was the first captain that welcomed the Rayearth to Seireitei, both Retsu and Byakuya were in the human world and returned looking if they were on a match with a Vasto Lorde, the sotaichou FOUGHT him and lost badly, I think Komamura had contact with the Rayearth at some point, same with Shunsui and Ukitake, I had a little contact with the Rayearth during the failed ambush, even Tousen…the only captain as far as I know that hasn't been on direct or indirect contact has been Aizen, and I can't trust him…I don't know why but I just don't" he confessed to the shocked Rangiku.

"But I trust you" he declared, shocking Rangiku even further, "What should I do?" was his simple answer, Rangiku frowned at that, she had never seen Toshiro in such distress, she honestly didn't knew what do to also, it was quite a dilemma and truth to be told it was not exactly her area of expertise.

"Taichou" she began, "Honestly I don't know" she added, "You are good figuring things out" she stated as she began to push him out of the office, "But you're so stressed about this matter and burying yourself in paperwork to even think a proper way to deal with it is not the way, it will only add fuel to the fire" she added as she guided her taichou away.

"I know…but every time I think of a solution, only problems come as the aftermath" he said, "Everything has consequences, think of what happened with the Rayearth and his sisters, kidnapping his sisters was an action, the reaction was him blowing us all to oblivion and then discovering he is not only a shinigami and a Rayearth, but also a hollow hybrid" Rangiku stated.

"And what a shock it was, even more when he fired an omni-directional cero that was laced with enough reiatsu to put every single person in range on a coma, hot enough to melt zanpakutous and harmless enough to not kill us, if not outright vaporize us" Toshiro stated.

"I feel…I feel like a pawn on a game of chess" he stated to Rangiku, "Problem is, I don't know in which team I am, and who is playing with us"

* * *

"Faeron, are you sure it was her?"

"I know who I saw, that whore! After what she did in the lord wars, she didn't had the dignity to die and not reincarnate like the rest of the knights, she lives, she is here! I WANT HER HEAD!"

"And she will carve your head and eat your liver with fine wine if you charge in your current state, berserk and like a fool!"

"And what do you suggest Eurania? Not only are we dealing with an ever growing Rayearth of fire, but also one of his predecessors, I'm not exactly happy, and even less since she cut my arm off and I had to reattach it!" Faeron snapped, Eurania had to suppress her disgust at the sight of Faeron's face.

Like the rest of his kind, Faeron's skin is like that of a lizard, with scales, harsh to the touch, his hair were braids, or in the females case, long curls, their eyes basically were yellow in their kind, that, their skin roughness and mouth shape was standard among his kind, while humanoid in shape, his face was not, his mouth was in fact a four segmented jaw, meaning the thing could open itself in for different directions, revealing in the inside a set of razor triangular shaped teeth placed on a circular form, and a forked tongue inside.

"And you realize I have a plan" Eurania replied, giving a dry look to the reptile looking member of the knighthood of fire.

"Tch, if you refer to the upgraded Revenant" Faeron began, "That thing came out of a shinigami's back; yes it is disturbing, even to our standards, but I must remind you that it provided us with the perfect opportunity to use the salvaged energy of the Nemesis, I must admit the result is quite pleasant" Eurania stated with a slight smile.

"Pleasant? You crazy mockery of a mad scientist, you put that thing on the small girl's body…you have no honor…nor shame" Faeron stated, "Oh grow up, there is no honor, there is no shame either, there is only victory and the means used to achieve it" Eurania stated, making Faeron growl.

"We have order of her majesty herself, and you better than anyone knows what she meant when she said 'by all means necessary' it means that we can do whatever it takes, without any regard for the lives of others or our 'honor' as long the Rayearth is brought to her, dead or alive" Eurania stated with a smirk.

Faeron just growled at her, but remained silent altogether, she was right, those had been the exact words of her majesty, and her word is the law, when she commands you to jump, you don't ask why and how, you just do it.

"Besides is that or facing him ourselves, and I admit we can't win against a Rayearth, no matter what we do, he already has limit, his blade has evolved, not to mention that even without his Rayearth powers he is beyond anything we can do" Eurania confessed, "We will surely be killed if we fight him head-on, our best chance is hope that the Revenant can weaken him enough so we can deal with him safely" she added.

"And what about the other rayearths, in case you have forgotten we have still yet to receive any confirmation of the others about the status of the other knights" Faeron replied, "Indeed, we can only hope they accomplish their deeds…and what about the special team send to capture this…princess?" Eurania wondered out loud.

"I don't know…all I know is that the team is elite, so they won't fail" Faeron simply replied as he checked his arm, the one that had been detached of his body just days.

"They better not, the queen's patience is running thin as it is with the resistance, the last thing we need is that to learn that they failed their objectives and the knights arrived to Crystalia, it will be our doom if that happens" Eurania scowled while saying this.

"…You just wonder if the guardians called the rayearths to either silence the rebellion or to help them" Faeron added to the scowling Eurania.

"I hope not…too much is at stake" Eurania confessed as she stared at the night sky of Seireitei, wondering how much longer she would remain in this world and when she would return to her own.

But truth to be told she also wondered if this was her last night, after all tomorrow an all out battle was going to take place right in that summit, not only that, Aizen, the guy with glasses, the guy reminded her of Tyranus, a Nemesis that served under the wing of the dark lord in the past war and perhaps the strongest of all the Nemesis ever created, what made Tyranus quite scary was not its appearance, which was not standard with other Nemesis, hell he looked like a normal human, no, it was his smile, an everlasting small gentle smile that never left his face, not even when he slaughtered armies with his bare hands and bathed in their combined blood, he always had that smile.

Aizen reminded her of Tyranus for that reason, because she believed that Aizen, like Tyranus, would kill her without even blinking, all while smiling.

"…_I will need to be alert against him"_

**Day three, day of the execution…**

Gin was to escort the guards who would take Momo and Rukia to the summit, it was not exactly the task he expected, hell he was actually shocked when Aizen told him and Tousen that they would present each other in the execution, to see 'the fireworks' as he called it, and not the fireworks that involved the massive halberd.

The 'trap' which Aizen said was bad made and that he could make a better one while drunk and smothered by girls, would only end in one way, the captains beaten, Aizen had theorized that the growth of the Rayearth of fire, and therefore the growth of the other knights is rather accelerated, way too fast, unlike anything seen before, the Rayearth knights could do what it would take others years, in the lapse of days, that concept slightly freaked Gin out, there was nothing like that in the world that could match such growth.

Now Gin understood why the knights were the strongest mortals in the universe, they grew way too fast, so much that there were few beings capable of even hoping to match their growth rhythm; Aizen had even said that if this growth continued, Ichigo would be surely on par against Coyote Stark on his released form in a month or so, the growth of the knight came to the combat experience, the more it fights, the more he or she grows, and Ichigo had plenty of fights to add to his growth.

Gin knew that conflict currently was unavoidable, especially with the sotaichou hell bent on gaining revenge, no matter the cost; he knew that today the Rayearth would get stronger, but Gin, being who he is, knew one fatal flaw in Ichigo.

While his Rayearth powers grew at an alarming rate, the shinigami powers of Ichigo grew stagnated, it was something he had seen, it was something Aizen knew, and it was something the sotaichou expected, while the knights are indeed strong, if Ichigo is to fight as a shinigami he would lose, of that he was certain.

His musings were cut short as he and the guards arrived to Rukia's tower/cell, looking at the entrance which was flanked by two guards, this time gladly they weren't beheaded like the last ones, how that happened, he believed it was Eurania, who else would have done it, not him that's certain, besides he would at least have the decency to cover their bodies, or at least place their heads near their bodies, so the whole package can be buried in one go.

He still smirks when he thinks that the crime was about to the pinned to Ichigo, problem was that Ichigo had not killed not even a single shinigami ever since he arrived, so any idea of pinning him with the fault was a mute point, besides considering he was actually getting support of some captains, not openly mind you, but some of them were already questioning why the sotaichou was so angry with the rayearths prior to Ichigo's arrival.

Whatever the case, today is the day, and all would come together, for good or ill.

He saw how the guards, with some apprehension began to move Rukia out of her cell, using the collar around her neck to do such purpose, he idly wondered if he should taunt her, he did it with Momo, yet the girl didn't seemed phased by his taunts, a new to him, she only smirked at him and said that he would get his due in no time.

But Rukia…he felt something off with her, something that was not right, call it a gut feeling, a gut feeling that has saved his ass more than once, that feeling solidified in shock when he saw the eyes of Rukia.

Her sclera was pitch black, like the one of a hollow, her irises red blood, all covered by her hair, it was sheer luck the guards haven't seen it too.

"_Maybe Momo has a gut feeling too"_ it was the only thing he could think off as reason why Momo avoided being sent to the cell alongside Rukia.

Those eyes…were just wrong.

That shock became outright fear when she spoke.

"There is little you can do to stop me…I will escape…and I will kill you all" she hissed loud enough for everyone to hear, the guards tensed and instantly tightened her collar, making her growl like an animal, the guards were tense like rat traps after that, Momo was already ahead, per her request, she didn't want to walk to her death alongside Rukia.

"_Something is off with her"_ she stated, and Gin couldn't help to agree with her, considering he was about to betray Seireitei as a whole and help start a war, agreeing with a death row criminal, even one who didn't deserve it, was something off to him.

"…Eurania" he whispered in loathe, he already knew who had some hand on Rukia's sudden change.

The first thing he would do was going to bifurcate Eurania…from the head to the groin.

* * *

Ukitake cursed his luck as he stared at the damaged shield in front of him; his two third seats staring at the item with some disappointment, the Shihoin shield, a relic of the Shihoin clan, one of the four noble houses of soul society lay broken in two, unusable.

"Dammit all to hell" he cursed, Shunsui was not far behind, looking a little crestfallen, "This is not good, someone got here before us" he mentioned, Ukitake just growled at that, "I'm going to kill whoever did this" he stated.

"Unohana-taichou won't be happy about this development" Kiyone muttered with some apprehension, "You think? She will blow her top off after she learn this" Sentaro muttered a little too loud to everyone to hear, "The whole plan was based on the shield working, without it the Sōkyoku was sure to take down Rukia and Momo.

"What now?" Kiyone wondered.

"We improvise" Ukitake stated, "Remember that Unohana told us that only two things could really destroy the Sōkyoku, one was that shield…the other is the Rayearth blade of Ichigo…Ignis" Ukitake stated.

"The blade that can cut zanpakutous" Sentaro uttered in fear, there was few things that could damage a zanpakutou, a stronger zanpakutou wielded by a powerful opponent, sheer brute force (something that is yet to be seen, only speculated) high ranked kido spells, and now in that category, the Rayearth blades, and blades in plural because Ichigo is not the only Rayearth alive, the one of the wind and water also posses Rayearth blades, each with the ability to cause the same damage to a zanpakutou as Ichigo's Rayearth blade, the prospect of three beings wielding weapons capable of cutting down zanpakutous with ease, truth to be told freaked him out.

"Yes, that weapons is capable of cutting down a zanpakutou, or damaging one if the blow behind it is not strong enough" Shunsui stated, "I also heard that those zanpakutous with strong wielders, once struck by Ignis seem to…scream in pain, apparently a Rayearth blade does much more than damaging the physical form of the zanpakutous, it causes them pain…exactly what we need against the Sōkyoku" Shunsui added to the group.

"A weapon that can damage the Sōkyoku" Kiyone and Sentaro said at the same time.

"No" Ukitake stated, "A weapon that can stop AND destroy the Sōkyoku" he added with a small grin, "Okay, let's go to Sōkyoku hill, we need to be in our places"

* * *

Yamamoto remained stoic and impassive, even more as the object and reason the Rayearth knight had stormed Seireitei and so far had caused more destruction than a hollow army, the boy, who he would personally hunt after the execution if he didn't fell to the obvious trap, had caused such ruckus that had caught the attention of the king…no the Queen herself, if something good came out of all this mess so far was that they have been slacking, and that he needed to toughen up a little more, that and now he knew the face of the ruler of soul society.

Yamamoto, like the rest of the captains and lieutenants present stiffened when the overwhelming presence of the queen herself came crashing over them, Zaraki had such a look that said simply he wanted to fight the owner of such power, but of course he held himself because he would obviously die if he dared attack the queen, who by the looks was not alone, she had come with her guard, her own personal bodyguards, surely pretty strong ones considering that she was going to presence an execution and she was the pillar in which soul society stood, without her, all would come crashing down.

"Your Highness" he said loud enough so everyone could hear and realize who she was, Aizen seemed to go eye wide when he saw the woman who oozed power like a waterfall, her stern look, however, thankfully or not was not directed to any of the captains, but to the sotaichou.

"I learned of the advancement of the sentence by one of my agents" she said sternly, everyone could see that the three figures were greatly amused by the way the queen expressed herself, while the tallest one, carrying a rectangular wrapped object was obviously smirking under his hood, the other two, the small ones were openly giggling, female giggles, they, like the tall one had hood under their heads, but the small ones were openly displaying their zanpakutous.

"It had to be done your majesty, we couldn't hold much more, not with the knight of fire openly rampaging around Seireitei, I, along the captains concluded that it would be better to execute the criminal and reason the Rayearth is around, if the reason is gone, so will he" he stated simply, making the queen narrow her eyes at him, it seemed she wasn't convinced by this.

"Regardless, this was a decision that affects everyone, including me, you actually think this act will not have consequences?" she snapped/asked, making the captains around to take an involuntary step back, "I saw what the Rayearth did to you and captain Zaraki Kenpachi, I saw what he did to the remaining shinigami, alone, angered!" she forcefully screamed, her reiatsu crashing over the area, the monks working on the Sōkyoku fell on their knees in utter fear, while the captains instantly tensed up, mostly out of instinct after feeling such a heavy reiatsu, the lieutenants where at least on their feet, but had such an expression of horror on their faces that the expression 'well' was quite redundant.

"You haven't considered the consequences of this day" she snapped tersely as she turned to face the Sōkyoku, her reiatsu vanishing and allowing everyone to breather properly, she saw instantly how the monks around the gigantic halberd continued with their work.

"Perhaps other kings have done things the old fashioned way, letting forty-six people decide the fates of many, but trust me on this Yamamoto, I am different than them, things will go different while I'm around, and the first thing I will do is to reform central 46 with less power" she snapped, making every shinigami around, with the exception of her guards to go eye wide, "It is obvious that the power the former kings gave them went over their heads" she snapped as her gaze fell on the two prisoners being carried towards a white pedestal, her eyes narrowed even more, causing the guards around Momo and Rukia to shiver in fear, albeit her gaze was not focused on both girls.

"You disappoint me…Yamamoto-sotaichou" the queen hissed, seeing how both girls were left in the pedestal.

"If I were you, I would prepare myself for the inevitable backlash of this execution" she snapped as she began to make her way where the captains were, only that she made her distance of them, and her guards easily formed a perimeter around her, her gaze kept being one of disapproval against all this.

Aizen-sa…" Tousen began, "No Tousen, it is too risky, I felt her power, she is too much for me to take head on, we will stick to the plan, thought I admit that knowing her face make things a lot easier" he admitted, looking at the queen and her guard.

"Yet…I feel something is wrong" Gin muttered, "Indeed, Ukitake, Shunsui and Unohana-taichou are yet to arrive" as if he had summoned them, so said captains came along, Ukitake as usual came with both his third seats, a problem and a boon Aizen summarized, having two people on the same post generates friction, but at the same time when the time requires it both can work together.

Then he saw Shunsui appear, the man was flanked by his lieutenant and a giant of a man, the shaggy hair of the man covered his eyes, and overall gave him a daunting expression, quite a sight he admits, far better that Yammy he believes.

Then Unohana arrived as usual her lieutenant, Isane stood by her side, but he could feel another presence that had arrived with Unohana, but hadn't allowed himself or herself to be seen, a smart move.

As soon all captains were present, the execution began.

The sotaichou didn't wait for formalities nor had time to grant last requests, he simply lay his hand on a nearby panel near the spot where the girls where, immediately their bonds were destroyed, three cubes suddenly emerging of the white stand, one of each arm and the last on their legs, lifting them up until they were on par with the tip of massive halberd and stand behind them.

"Release it!" he commanded, at the same time the five monks around the halberd base finished the ritual to release the halberd to its natural state, the temperature around Sōkyoku hill instantly rose, then two seconds later the halberd was consumed in flames, the once mighty weapon was replaced by a mighty fire bird that flapped its wings and stood in position to strike, aiming at Rukia and Momo.

Momo could only stare with wide eyes at the sight of the released form of the Sōkyoku, slowly gulping and realizing this was it, her only regret of all this was not being able to expose Aizen as the man he is.

As for Rukia, in whatever state she was after her encounter with Eurania, she still has some semblance to recognize the danger she was exposed, and uttered one single word, only Momo was able to hear it.

"I...chi…go…"

Then the bird lunged, but it didn't had the expected result as Yamamoto expected, nor the words prior to it.

"ICHIGO NOW!"

The captain-commander had barely time to turn around and see the queen scream those words, seeing how one of her guards were missing, looking upwards he saw Ichigo Kurosaki already in front of Rukia and Momo, between them and the massive fire bird, his zanpakutou revealed and Ignis in hand.

"Come on!" Ichigo snarled, Zangetsu impacting clearly on the beak of the fire bird, the impact resounded all over Sōkyoku hill, even more the scream of indignation of Soi Fong when they saw that an average zanpakutou was able to stop the released form of the Sōkyoku, indignant screams turned into pained screams when Soi Fong's gut was introduced to the released form of Karin's zanpakutou, Omaeda was unable to lay a blow to Karin mainly because of Yuzu's released form, and ended up receiving the blunt of his own attack, those three attacks were a prelude to the madness to come.

Yamamoto instantly barked the captains to attack Ichigo while unsheathing his zanpakutou, but before he could fully release it Shunsui and Ukitake were in front of him…opposing him.

"…You…are defending him?" he asked in slight shock, shock turned into outrage, "YOU DEFEND THE BEING THAT HAS BROKEN OUR MOST SACRED RULES?" he all but screamed to his former students.

"No" Shunsui began, "We are doing this for the sake of soul society" Ukitake added, those words made the captain-commander to scream, his flame like reiatsu lashing wildly around and causing his haori to be incinerated without even a regard, hell he was burning the area around him, but as soon as it had come it had gone when the Sōkyoku trilled in defiance after being rejected in such a way, and like with all zanpakutous, it was sentient, prideful to a level and really, really pissed.

The strongest fire zanpakutou charged head on, angry without any shadow of a doubt, basically ignoring one fact most zanpakutous that had crossed paths with Ichigo had taken to their hearts.

He could hurt them, really hurt them.

With a smirk, Ichigo actually launched himself against the bird; the captains were still trying to figure out how he was able to walk in the air like most shinigami while still in Seireitei, that was until they noted that Ichigo's sandals were different than theirs, his had metal soils, or what seemed metal, and that allowed him to do what other shinigami couldn't inside Seireitei.

It was Ichigo's ability to walk in their air like most shinigami, while inside Seireitei that gave him a greater edge, with a roar he brought Ignis upwards, just when the Sōkyoku reared its head to add power to the stab, and with a similar roar he brought it straight to the middle of the Sōkyoku's beak when it tried to break Ignis, what happened shocked many to years to come.

Ignis saw like blades dug into the beak of the released halberd, then much to everyone's horror, such saw like blades came to life with a mechanical roar, and started to _saw_ the Sōkyoku in two, all while Ichigo kept forward on his charge, in less than five seconds, the released form of the Sōkyoku was neatly cut in two, the fire bird reverting into a halberd, a halberd that was neatly cut in two and continued its path away of the girls, both pieces landing on the forest bellow the mesa.

The silence that reigned there was perhaps the greatest of them all, the shocked look of every single captain, not including the one of the queen and the little girls was, to say the least, something to behold.

"This is going to get ugly" was all Gin said as all hell broke loose.

* * *

_and there you have it people, this year chapter, what a way to end the year, with a clifhanger, i know I'm evil, so what sue me, in any case this chapter will have an omake, it will not have a preview of the chapter to come, i'll keep that as a surprise, i know i know, evil._

_now into the omake._


	12. 11: Nemesis

_**hello my readers, god knows how much i have delay this chapter, i have been asked about it for a long time, hell even after we got the new look to our profiles i was asked time and time again when i would update, well your prayers have been answered, i am here with another chapter of Rayearth Knights, Ichigo the Inferno.**_

_**it has taken me some time, writters block for this chapter, hell for this story in particular has been ruthless, it has attacked me without mercy, but i emerged victorious, and my proof of victory is here, on this chapter, for you my readers, i give you another chapter of Ichigo the inferno to read.**_

_**enjoy!**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 11: NEMESIS**

Sōkyoku hill, standing proud in the middle of Seireitei, is quite a sight to behold, being a sacred place that was surrounded by beautiful pink leafed trees and was the scenario in the past of famous executions of captains that had slipped somewhat and central 46, being their unforgiving and harsh self, had decide to execute them, and since they were captains the Sōkyoku, a very big zanpakutou whose power resided in multiplying its destructive power once it stabbed something, thus causing immediate and perhaps horrible death by incinerating the soul, thus causing instant resurrection in the human world (in the form of a baby) with no memories at all of what had transpired, this method assured all that the punishment was carried out and any punishment and guilt the punished had was erased.

Problem here was that never, ever, has the Sōkyoku, argued to be a zanpakutou with the power of a million released zanpakutous had been stopped by a normal zanpakutou, let alone cut down by another one, all while in its released form, the silence that precede that event was followed by the chaos afterwards.

When Byakuya, perhaps one of the few captains who was not so shell shocked after seeing the seemingly indestructible Sōkyoku being cut down, unsheathed his zanpakutou and was ready to release it against Ichigo, he wasn't prepared to the blast of a Kido spell that nailed him on the back, sending him tumbling on the ground, regaining footing Byakuya could only stare in shock as Renji Abarai lowered his hand, which had fired the kido spell that had hit him.

"What are you waiting Ichigo? GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" Renji all but snapped to the Ryoka on the air, Ichigo didn't lost time, and neither Renji as he lunged at Byakuya, the captain brought his zanpakutou to bear and began to fight his lieutenant, that seemed the cue for many, Yamamoto, Aizen, Tousen, Gin, Mayuri and Soi Fong and their lieutenants were greatly surprised when the other captains and their lieutenants charged against them, Yamamoto was in fact shocked, it was not everyday an uprising happened in his watch, maybe one, two rouge shinigami, but half of the captains and their lieutenants? Never.

The guards that had been posted around the Sōkyoku hill as precaution were caught off guard of course when they were attacked from behind, from the direction of the second entrance to the hill, the ladders, they didn't even lasted a minute against their attackers before falling.

Yamamoto himself had to draw his zanpakutou when the Queen herself attacked him, rather brutally, only his years of experience all owed him to hold his own against the brutal, yet refined and well placed attacks that she was delivering against him, when he was allowed some time to breathe, he could only glance and see the chaos that had only started minutes ago.

Zaraki Kenpachi was fighting against Mayuri, everyone knew that Kenpachi hated the clown like shinigami, and wanted his head on a pike, no one knew why, maybe because Mayuri seemed to make people hate him by his actions, regardless of them, and Kenpachi was actually picking a bone that many had against Mayuri.

Not too far of Mayuri, his lieutenant, Nemu was caught in a duel with…a Quincy of all things, and it seemed it was an even battle, regardless the fact that Nemu by all intents and purposes was Mayuri's female clone and the Quincy seemed well versed on his ancestors arts.

As he blocked a blow of the Queen he was able to see upwards, right where Ichigo was, the boy who had started it all with his presence alone, he saw how he lifted both Momo and Rukia on his shoulders, then stabbed Zangetsu on the execution stand, much to the onlookers shock, the once reiatsu rich stand that was able to stand the Sōkyoku massive stabbing power, glowed blue for an instant, then blew up, ever reiatsu feeling being was able to feel the fall of the Sōkyoku stand.

Several of the monks tried to stop the two sisters of Ichigo, only to fall easily against them, regardless of their supper ability with Kido magic, they were no match against Karin who with five kicks, one for each one of the monks, disposed of them, all while Yuzu covered her.

Not far of him, his former students were actually fighting against Kaname Tousen and Ichimaru Gin, it was an even fight, with both sides only displaying superior swordsmanship, their lieutenants were actually locked on a similar struggle, yet not displaying the same finesse with the blade as their superiors.

Aizen, much to anyone's shock was fighting, what seemed a losing battle against someone many believed, had died, yet Yamamoto knew otherwise.

"Isshin" he whispered, only to recoil in pain when the Queen feet met his gut, making his gasp in pain, "Yes…him" she hissed as she pushed the sotaichou with one hand, easily.

"You think I wouldn't know" she began, advancing against him, he swung his sword against her, but she simply rejected the blow and landed a kick to his chest in retaliation, hard enough to knock him some steps back, but not enough to bring him to his knees.

"Little escapes my ears" she stated, advancing even more at him, "Even more when those involves my husband!" she snapped, her zanpakutou hit his hard, sending him skidding on the ground, "H-husband?"

"Yes" she hissed, "I haven't met him before his…apparent death, so I have you and central 46 to thank, without you and them, I wouldn't have met him, and I wouldn't have three wonderful children…" she said in a slight mocking tone, of course her face didn't held a mocking expression.

"…And you ordered to kidnap two of my girls!" she snapped, her zanpakutou cutting easily the shocked sotaichou on the chest.

"You thought you could use them to lure my son out, well it backfired you, he fought you, he wounded you beyond the healing capabilities of Retsu, you forced yourself to stand here, you're not even at your fullest, you're weak" she snapped.

What she said was not lost to him however, there he realized who her children where, after all he fought one of them, and he ordered the abduction of two of them, thus causing the ire of the eldest.

Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu were the children of the spirit queen, they were royalty, the Rayearth knight is the eldest son of the queen.

"…Who are you? Who you really are?" he asked in shock.

"Me? I'm just a mother who gave her life for her son and found out her husband was the next on the line for the throne, my name is Masaki Kurosaki…and I'm pissed"

* * *

Ichigo easily dropped on the ground, letting Momo, the healthy looking prisoner hit the ground with her feet, Momo by her part looked relieved to be saved, and on the ground, and also saved by the massive fire bird that would have obliterate her and Rukia, not even ashes would have remained of them, she was glad that the Rayearth had saved her, but he really had to start a revolution?

"Are you okay?" he asked simply, she simply nodded, not knowing what else to say in the moment, the man saved her, she is grateful, and while she would have loved to be saved by Toshiro, she knew that only the knight of fire would have a chance to save them without dying in the process.

"Yeah" she confessed, "But you really had to start a revolution?" she wondered out loud, ducking when a kido spell went off too close for comfort.

"Sort off yeah, but just for the record is not my fault" Ichigo confessed while still holding Rukia over his shoulders, Ignis strapped on his back and Zangetsu now resting on his free hand, Momo also noted that Ichigo had a third zanpakutou strapped on his belt, Rukia's zanpakutou to be exact.

"Sure" Momo muttered, bringing her hands to her head when a kido spell blew a chunk of the floor near her, "Dammit this is getting out of hand, let's get out of here!" she all but screamed, Ichigo nodded simply as he flash stepped away, leaving Momo behind, a very angry Momo, "At least you could have take me with you jerk!" she all but screamed, barely ducking another powerful kido spell, running to find cover she had little time to scream when an explosion lifted her in the air, her world shifted and so her as she flew away, then she abruptly stopped.

"Really Momo, you really should stop downing those cakes, they are making you fat"

"Oh shove it up Shiro-chan" she snapped with a pout ash Toshiro lowered her to the ground, she saw that she was on the edge of the forest, far away of the battle, there she could see Ichigo setting an unconscious Rukia on the ground, near Unohana and Isane, deadly pale and sweating cold.

"I don't like this, she is too pale, even for her standards" Ichigo mentioned, "Indeed" Unohana muttered as she an Isane worked on Rukia, then focused her eyes on Ichigo.

"You know what must be done, he must be stopped" she said, her voice steeled with resolve, "I know" Ichigo said as he stood up and flicked both of his blades, "I know" and with that he turned around and began advancing on the ensuring battle.

As he began to advance, the large concentration of hostile shinigami began to set in to Ichigo, the reason the battle was so chaotic was because those who still remained conscious after their encounters with Ichigo and others were here currently, fighting, either supporting the captains that were at his side, or with the other captains, and while their numbers, which have been thinned greatly ever since Ichigo appeared, blew up the imperial barrier and his little temper tantrum, where still impressive.

Here Ichigo could see how numerous the shinigami truly were.

Also he saw that most of them turned their attention to him, and charged, really, really angry.

Gritting his teeth Ichigo charged as well, raising Ignis he blocked what seemed a chained and spiked ball and splitting it in half, then rushing forward he elbowed a female shinigami who was wielding a pair of gold like tonfa batons, keeping his advance Ichigo breathed a long tongue of fire, blocking four shinigami that were charging at him, then kicked one that sneaked behind him with ease, sending that one flying away.

With a snarl he summoned his hollow mask, dark energy wrapping around his face as the black and white skull like mask formed.

"**Out of my way!"** and with that single command a telekinetic blast emanated of him, hitting every shinigami around him, hard, most of the shinigami hit by this had broken bones or went unconscious almost instantly.

Releasing his mask, Ichigo continued his charge against the one Unohana meant to be stopped, the one Yoruichi and Hiyori seemed to hate with a passion, the one that had seemed to have started a plan that seemed to have only one way to be stopped.

Killing Sosuke Aizen.

Ichigo didn't even bothered to acknowledge the attack to his right, even if it blocked it with Zangetsu with ease, there is an advantage to a very inhuman strength that even shinigami do not posses.

"Kurosaki Ichigo" Ichigo simply pushed his attacker away with his right arm, then turned to see Byakuya Kuchiki of all people standing against him.

"You…I thought Renji had you occupied" Ichigo stated as he stared at Byakuya, no other shinigami seemed to dare to attack Ichigo, even more considering that Ichigo was too much for the average shinigami to deal with.

"You seem to delight in disgracing the custom and laws of our world" Byakuya said simply, looking bored on the outside, but Ichigo knew otherwise, Byakuya was basically on fire, Byakuya was pissed and wanted Ichigo dead.

"Considering that you got it coming" Ichigo stated simply as he stared at Byakuya in a bored fashion, looking pass Byakuya he saw Renji on the ground, a pool of blood around him.

"And just like the rest…you go against all you believe and even wound those you called friends, for what? Stupid rules? Stupid guidelines that simply make you a machine, a mindless, soulless machine" Ichigo asked/spat, Byakuya simply sneered at Ichigo, his legendary patience finally growing thin.

"Stupid? Our laws are there for a reason, it keeps balance" Byakuya hissed, "Killing your sister won't bring balance, it will only make you bitter" Ichigo snapped, eyes narrowed at Byakuya.

Suddenly Ichigo turned around fast, suddenly cutting down the rapier shaped zanpakutou with Ignis, and with it slashing the chest of the lieutenant of Yamamoto, Byakuya seemed to take this chance as he flickered away and tried to kill Ichigo from the back, just for Ichigo to raise Zangetsu, block the incoming stab, then with a flick of his wrist parried Senbonzakura, then kicked Byakuya all while not looking at Byakuya at all.

Byakuya was able to grab the feet of Ichigo, but it wasn't enough to stop it at all, he only went on flying like a ragdoll and landed on the ground like one.

As Byakuya flew away, Ichigo focused his sight once again on Aizen, seeing how he and his father fought, to Ichigo seeing his father fighting to such level and skill was awe-inspiring and a little scary considering that Ichigo was used to always slug his father easily.

Flash-stepping away with ease, Ichigo easily bypassed the entire field, and landed straight on Aizen's flank, the spectacle wearing man had little time to flicker away as well when Ichigo tried to neatly cut him in two.

"Aiming for the kill…commendable, Kurosaki Ichigo" Aizen said as he reappeared, at least some meters away, the sleeve of his haori slightly cut.

"Let's just say Fira can be very convincing when stating why I should kill you, still I'm trying to decide which way, burning you or simply cutting you down" Ichigo snapped, making Aizen raise an eyebrow, "Oh, it seems you have grown"

"When someone kidnaps a friend of mine for a stupid orb and planned the downfall of my mom well the time of beating someone unconscious ends and the time of killing begins" Ichigo stated, "Don't let your temper gets the better of you Ichigo, Aizen is not a captain just for strength this guy knows how to push your buttons" Isshin reminded.

"Yeah, it seems to be someone all captains must have, being asses, at least Kenpachi has the delicacy to compensate for the lack of that with his bloodlust"

"You have crossed blades with several shinigamis, even with Yamamoto-sotaichou…however I am very different from them" Aizen stated simply, raising his blade at Ichigo, "I for one, am not driven by bloodlust like the rest"

"That's a first" Ichigo commented idly as he shifted his weight and settled on a combat stance, "Indeed" with that Aizen suddenly blurred, but not against Ichigo, but to dodge the slash of Isshin, "My, how unmannered of you" Aizen chastised.

"Tsk, and how infantile of you to believe I was aiming to get you" Aizen had little time to ponder on that when he felt a massive built up of reiatsu behind him, and then those words he swore he would never hear of a being with such an amount of reiatsu on him.

"Bakudou 1: Sai!"

All Aizen knew now was that not even the sotaichou would free himself of the overcharged first level binding spell that was casted by the Rayearth Ichigo, forced to his knees, and his arms bound to his back, all Aizen could do was to feel the blade of Ichigo close way too much for comfort to his jugular vein.

His eyes focused on the forms of Gin, the fox faced man could react to this, he had a zanpakutou poised around his neck, his left arm held by Rangiku Matsumoto no less, "Do not even move Gin!" she hissed.

Tousen seemed to be on a similar situation, only his situation involved Ishida and Hiyori, front and back, aiming their weapons at him, ready to puncture holes in vital areas or to split him in two from head to groin.

All battle seemed to stop in that instant, every shinigami staring at the three bound shinigami around, "Sorry Aizen-taichou…she caught me off guard" Gin said simply, "Indeed…I never expected her to take actions" Aizen replied.

"Momo was very explicit on telling me what you did to her" Matsumoto began, "What you have been planning all along" she added, her glare never leaving Aizen, one by one, Aizen noted, several shinigami, captain class and their lieutenants began to surround them, Komamura, Kenpachi, Shunsui and Ukitake, their lieutenants as well began to surround him, he also noted that the Ryoka that were missing began to show up as well, the girl with the hair matching the one of Ichigo, the giant of a man who accompanied Shunsui before was one of them as well, he also recognized the brother of Kuukaku among the group, and a pair of people he didn't expect to see at this length of his plan.

"Yoruichi…Shinji" Aizen stated simply as he stared at two shinigami he hadn't seen in a long time, one of them had gotten too close of hurting him once, all while during the process of Hollowfication, the other had bailed those who knew of his true plan and purposes.

Of course no one would believe traitors and death sentenced shinigami, at that time perhaps, when central 46 words was the law, and the king never intruded in other affairs, but right now everything was different, even more considering that the queen herself was standing just meters of him.

"You do like to make things complicated, don't you Kurosaki Ichigo" Aizen stated, "You couldn't settled in forgetting her, no, guilt drove you to get her, not friendship" Aizen began, not missing how Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him.

"Shut up"

"Guilt, just like the guilt that ate you up when you mother died protecting you"

"I said enough"

"And such guilt drove you to drive your own friends into their own deaths" Ichigo growled like a rabid dog at Aizen at those words, oh how he was tempted to drive Ignis and Zangetsu up to his face, and twist them.

But he settled himself down, Aizen was not going anywhere, he would have all the time on the world to make the man regret those words, later, much, much later.

"You just don't realize now Aizen, but you're a dead man walking, whatever you did to Rukia, I will make you pay thousand fold" Ichigo replied, Aizen just shook his head and smirked.

"Ah, You are so naïve, true I orchestrated her capture, true I orchestrated many things, including the death of central 46" that drew several incredulous glances of those who didn't suspected of good ol' Aizen.

"But her current welfare, her pale skin, her ragged breath…I didn't had a hand in it, true I wanted that which was inside her…you never wondered why her reiatsu never recovered, even here?" that drew a suspicious glance of Ichigo, "She did mentioned it…what's your point?" Ichigo prompted.

"Simple, I wanted something of her…to be precise, something inside her" Aizen began, "A little artifact, small and simple in appearance, yet so powerful, so destructive that makes you rayearths look like babies" Aizen continued, "And object Urahara hid in her Gigai, a Gigai that slowly implanted that object in her soul, a Gigai that slowly turned her human, mortal, had she had stayed another month on the human realm, she would have become a human, and the object would have been forever out of my reach" Aizen continued, making Ichigo narrow his eyes.

"What kind of object?" Ichigo asked, "The kind of object that can make gods…isn't that right, Harribel?" Ichigo eyes widened when he felt a single slash on his back, yet pain was not registered, just the annoyance that Aizen had distracted him and everyone else so someone could sneak behind him.

Turning around, Ichigo saw the first glimpse of an Arrancar, and so said Arrancar had her first taste of a telekinetic blast straight to her face, Harribel had little time to steel herself when the TK blast basically rammed her face with the strength of the world, making her fly away, yet she was able to regain control on midair and land, yet staggering due to the blow on the face.

Ichigo, as everyone else turned around, seeing Aizen already free, and a strange looking figure with ragged black cloak and rusted blades, releasing Aizen with a strange star shaped crystal of the overcharged Bakudou of Ichigo, the moment he was free, Aizen blurred and kicked Ichigo on the face, while at the same time raising his left arm and blocking a blow of Yoruichi and with his zanpakutou blocking the blade of Shinji.

With a blast of reiatsu, Aizen pushed all three away, at the same time, Gin, taking advantage of the surprise of Matsumoto, and feeling really remorseful later, head butted her, breaking free of her hold, then aiming his zanpakutou, he released it, aimed at Hiyori, she had little time to react as she rose her own zanpakutou to defend herself, only to go wide eye when the blade took a curve and aimed itself at Uryuu, the Quincy had to jump away, giving Tousen quite a window to escape.

The three shinigami easily flash-stepped away onto a position where Harribel was expecting them.

"Oh hell **NO!" **donning his mask, Ichigo raised his finger, charged a cero and let it fly at the four fugitives, expecting to see them being blasted away by the beam, only to curse and release his mask when a golden barrier formed around them, deflecting the cero easily.

"The hell is that thing?" Ichigo asked, "Negacion Ichigo" Isshin stated as he looked up, following his gaze, Ichigo eyes widened when he saw a rip in the very sky and a dozen of Gillian class Menos in that rupture, alongside with something behind them, "Is basically a wall that separates anyone inside of that dimension, making it incredibly useful to rescue fellow hollows, in short, not even your Rayearth blade can break it" Isshin stated, Ichigo was about to prove that wrong when he zoned off.

"_**Don't ichigito, he is right, your blade can cut anything, but when it comes to dimensional walls that's one of the few limits you come across" **_Fira explained in his mind.

"_Well that's just great, the bastard escaped" _Ichigo spat in his mind as he stared Aizen less than spectacular and flawless escape, the man looked so smug as a chunk of the ground where he was took off with him to the sky.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I find your intervention in the past days something I have not expected in my plans, nor the powers you gained" Aizen began, "However, as I told Gin and Hinamori-kun once, not even a Rayearth can hope to stop me at this point, no one can" Aizen replied, not missing how Gin had looked at Matsumoto and had give her a very heartfelt 'sorry for everything'

Aizen simply pulled a small orb of his robes, a purple orb that shone with its own light, "Gaze upon the object of my very plan Kurosaki Ichigo, The Hōgyoku" Aizen said, "Such a small orb, yet so powerful, like you Rayearth knights, no one would expect something so delicate and small to be so powerful" Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the ascending man.

"This object, this…crumbling orb, is just one of many steps to achieve my true goal" he said, as he, Tousen and Gin reached the apex of their escape, "For far too long the throne above the heavens has remained empty, I plan to occupy that throne" Masaki and Isshin immediately grew weary of this.

"Are you mad Aizen, there is a reason that post is vacant and never to be occupied!" Isshin snapped, "Perhaps, but that vacancy ends, I will sit upon the heavens" he said as he removed his glasses, such glasses fragmenting away, and then sweeping his hair back, giving it a sleek look.

"Till then, goodbye, goodbye my former allies, goodbye your majesty, and goodbye Kurosaki Ichigo…no, I guess up to this point you deserve a better name…I guess Ichigo the Inferno will do…yes, like a demon from the bowels of hell itself, commanding the very flames of such place, yes, that will do, till a next time" he said as he stepped into the Garganta along with Tousen and Gin.

"Can't wait" was all Ichigo said as the Garganta closed, but not before Aizen said one last thing to them.

"If I were you now, I would worry more about the dark aura Kuchiki-san is developing" that last comment was enough to Ichigo to turn his head to Rukia, who indeed had a dark aura around her, her skin was now pale ash, almost like the one of hollow Ichigo, however her eyes were different, deep reed covered her entire eyes, almost glowing, suddenly her pale skin was covered in black and purple veins that began to ascend out of her, causing her a lot of pain it seemed, suddenly a pulse of energy pushed away both Retsu and Isane away, slowly the dark energy began to form over the fallen form of Rukia, forming into a humanoid way.

The creature in fact was a carbon copy of Rukia, clad in shinigami robes to add, but the indigo eyes of Rukia had been replaced by a pair of red blood eyes with black sclera, and while the original Rukia remained on the ground, panting for breath, the other Rukia simply stood, smirking, flexing her fingers together, balling her fists together.

"…I'm missing something" the other Rukia said, then without any warning she turned to the fallen Rukia, and rammed her arm on the chest of Rukia, the scream of the girl echoed around, even more when the other Rukia pulled something out of the chest of Rukia, soon it became evident what she pulled out.

A katana, a zanpakutou to be more exact, a carbon copy of Rukia's own sealed zanpakutou.

"Now…**THIS IS BETTER!"** the other Rukia snarled in a almost demonic voice, turning to Ichigo and snarling, "A Rayearth, you lot are too persistent, when the guardians will learn that opposing the dark one is futile" she stated with a smirk, slowly unsheathing the blade, there everyone noticed that the blade was more on a purple color, instead of the silver polished color usually zanpakutous had.

"You know" the other Rukia began, "When I hitched a ride on that fools blade, I believed I would end on a stupid Hollow's body, but instead I got stuck in a Rayearth's body, I was so close of breaking you, of having you" she said with a smirk, "But as usual, the whore of Fira and your so called 'love' for your useless sisters stopped me, how I don't know, truly I don't, maybe is the fact you are the first Rayearth with extra powers besides the ones granted by the guardians, yet it will do little difference" the other Rukia hissed, there Ichigo recognized who this Rukia truly was.

"…Nemesis" Ichigo hissed, the newly minted Nemesis-Rukia smirked evilly, slowly advancing to Ichigo, the being didn't even care when Unohana took the fallen form of Rukia on her arms and flash-stepped away alongside with Isane, reappearing behind Ichigo.

"How is she?" Ichigo asked, "Exhausted, nearly all her reiatsu has been depleted, but she is very slowly recovering it, she will live" Unohana stated.

"It won't be for long" Nemesis-Rukia snapped as she began her advance, "You assume much Nemesis, even if your strength was to be told to match the one of a Rayearth, you are still outmatched, outnumbered, and obviously over your head" Masaki snapped to Nemesis-Rukia.

"You assume too much whore" Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu and Isshin growled at that remark of Nemesis-Rukia, "You think my birth was an accident? You think that no one aided Aizen in acquiring that orb? You think that the queen will just stand idle as she is overthrown?" Nemesis-Rukia stated.

"So is true…she is corrupted, too attached to her position to look for her people…but why do you care, you're a Nemesis, you follow another master" Ichigo snapped.

"True…but when the queen has goals close to the one of our former master…" Nemesis-Rukia stated as a matter of fact that made Ichigo stop.

"So that's it after all, the queen is corrupted, and sends assassin to get me and the other rayearths" Ichigo replied, slowly shifting his blades on a comfortable position.

"Guys, stay behind, this one is mine" he called out to the ones behind him, slowly advancing to Nemesis-Rukia, the being simply smirked at him, mocking him with her Rukia like smile.

"Oh, you think they would make a difference if they fight me? How naïve and stupid of you…besides" Nemesis-Rukia stated as she slowly raised her hand, "MY pets want to play with them" when she lowered her hand, screams began to echo all over Seireitei.

Yamamoto turned his head to look at the source of the screams, then snarled and turned to Nemesis-Rukia.

"You…" he hissed, "OH, mad at me because I ordered the masses of wraiths that were exiled here after the Great War and were awoken slowly by the reiatsu of so many shinigami and then brought to a frenzy when the Rayearth broke in?" she mocked.

Yamamoto just glared at Nemesis-Rukia, and then glared at Ichigo's back, the screams and clash of steel echoing alongside as the wraiths began their rampage on the weakened Seireitei.

Biting his pride, he made the only sane and positive decision at the moment.

"You better dispose of that abomination…Rayearth" with that Yamamoto turned around and flickered away, seconds later a tower of flames engulfed the entrance of the 1st division.

"I guess that means we gotta defend our home, give her hell Ichigo" Shunsui stated as he turned around, while his voice held a lot of playfulness in it, his face told another story, it was stern, really stern, while he did wanted to go there and fight the nemesis in the likeness of Rukia, he knew that this was a battle that was not his to take, it was Ichigo's.

"OH no you don't!" Nemesis-Rukia all but hissed as she vanished an reappeared too near of the departing captains.

"OFFFF!" only to be tackled by an equally speeding Ichigo who had no qualms in sending the personification of Rukia's dark emotions away of the cliff.

With a sneer, and donning his mask, Ichigo followed her falling form, all about the idea of killing the nemesis with the upmost prejudice.

While falling, Ichigo opened his masked mouth, letting three balls of fire sail out to Nemesis-Rukia, the Nemesis simply batted the three fireballs with her blade, but left her guard open, with an incredible burst of speed, Ichigo propelled himself in mid-air towards Nemesis-Rukia like a missile, ramming his shoulder on her stomach, making her grunt in pain.

Still falling, Ichigo began to swing Zangetsu and Ignis in the hopes of hitting Nemesis-Rukia, but she prove to be a far more expert sword mistress than anyone he had fought before, expertly blocking each blow with a smirk on her face along the way.

This continued over their trek to the ground, once both realized that they were close to the ground, they broke the fight, Ichigo flipped away, and was able to gather his spiritual power to his feet, or to be more precise, his sandals, a special invention of Urahara that never saw the light because of his self-imposed exile, a way to walk in the air while in Seireitei, the problem was that the material that allowed this achievement degraded too fast once used, so it was not a surprise to Ichigo when instead of stopping altogether in mid-air, he instead landed slowly to the ground.

But Nemesis-Rukia didn't have that advantage; instead she only flipped on the air and landed on her feet, causing a crater to form on her wake.

Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo assessed the possibilities, the nemesis had basically taken the form of Rukia, that included her height, which could be both an advantage and disadvantage to him, small people tended to be fast, and Rukia was truth to be told, quite fast and vicious.

Also the thing had taken her face to throw him out of balance, a bad strategy…to the nemesis of course, Ichigo, while wanting to rescue Rukia, was eager to beat the shit out of the thing wearing her face, after all Rukia has not been exactly a kind soul, usually beating him for her very ugly drawings, which truth to be told, are ugly, so he was eager to beat the nemesis wearing Rukia's face, just to release his frustration.

"Well…it seems it worked"

Ichigo turned at the source of the voice, blinking when he spotted what seemed the very definition of an elf, in all the sense of the word, or better said a dark elf, the pointy ears, the extravagant colored hair that is actually natural, the unnatural curves that every single elf woman has, and the eye colors, who can forget that.

The fact that what seemed a humanoid lizard was standing right at her size made things odder, even more that Nemesis-Rukia had not attack him while he is looking at them.

"Well, I have to admit, I am honored to meet you at last, we have been looking for you" the dark elf said, "I am Eurania" she began, slightly bowing to him, "This is Faeron" she said, indicating the lizard like man at her side.

"And our reason to be here…is you" she said, Ichigo simply narrowed his eyes at them, "You see, we have waited, waited for so long for the coming of a knight, a knight of fire…you came after all, sadly our allegiance is for the queen" that said it all to Ichigo.

"You were the reason…THAT" he said, jerking his head to Nemesis-Rukia, "Was inside Rukia…you helped Aizen get what he wanted" Ichigo said.

"Guilty of charges, but hey, I did her a favor, it was my method or being burned to ash" Eurania said, making Ichigo scowl, "In any case, all came to be, Aizen got his toy, we got a Nemesis, I must say this one has a particular history with the original rayearths, apparently this nemesis was the first to be killed by the knights during the war, this humiliation of course did not set well to her, so you can guess she is quite pissed" Eurania stated, Ichigo only scoffed.

"In any case, we have a mission, namely you, but you get to choose" she said, "On one hand you can come with us peacefully to Crystalia, to be presented to our queen, as intended, in this one you get to live long enough to gaze on the capital Terras and actually see our queen face to face" she said.

"On the other hand, if you decide to fight us, you die, and I'll have the pleasure to remind you in your last moments that all you hold dear will suffUUGGHHH!" Eurania didn't had the time to finish that sentence when a massive cleaver wielded by Ichigo was rammed to her chest, trough and trough, blood pouring out of the gaps of the mortal wound.

"**You will not get near my family!" **Ichigo snarled on his hollowfied voice, Faeron had been so surprised by this that he was unable to react to Ichigo until he saw Eurania twitch and gasp her last breath, there he reacted.

Ichigo simply pulled Zangetsu out of Eurania, easily deflecting a blow of Faeron who looked rather pissed to see one of his companions die, "You will pay for that rayEAAGGHH!" but Faeron menace died on his throat, as him as a pale arm emerged out of his chest, looking at Ichigo, and the lack of Nemesis-Rukia, he understood who had dealt the blow.

"W-why?" he gasped his last as he slumped on the arm, "No one will attack the Rayearth, he will fall by MY hand!" Nemesis-Rukia snarled as she tossed Faeron away.

Ichigo stared at the corpses in front of him, he didn't feel pity for them, they had been dangers to his family and friends, just like the monster in front of him, unlike hollows, which acted like animals, instinct of survival driving them.

"When I'm done with you Rayearth" nemesis-Rukia began, lifting the copy of Sode no Shirayuki, "All you hold dear will follow" Nemesis-Rukia had just a fraction of second to raise her blade to block Ignis and Ichigo's attempt to decapitate her.

"**You will not touch them!" **Ichigo bellowed as he suddenly lashed a kick in the air at nemesis-Rukia's head, the nemesis was able to block the blow with her free hand, realizing a little late that Ichigo still had one free hand.

"**Getsuga Tenshou!" **a bright light enveloped Nemesis-Rukia as she was pushed away by the concentrated reiatsu slash, yet it seemed to not hurt her at all.

With a snarl Nemesis-Rukia crossed her arms together, basically blocking the Getsuga from trying to carve her apart, and then pushed it away with her left arm, the wave cutting several trees before connecting with the ground and causing a massive explosion.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes behind his hollow mask; not licking so far how this battle had began.

"My turn" Nemesis-Rukia hissed, suddenly pointing her blade at the ground, tart shaped energy with outlines of blue suddenly emanating of the blade, then she simply brought the tip of the blade to the ground, and then slashed.

Ichigo's eyes widened when a tart like made lion's head of the size of a Gillian's head came out of the ground and tried to take a chomp of him, Ichigo of course jumped away but the lion's head followed him in his trajectory, gritting his teeth Ichigo brought Ignis and slashed the head in two with ease.

"It seems the Rayearth blades gained extra features since my last confrontation with the knights" Nemesis-Rukia hissed, Ichigo simply stared back at Rukia, feeling how his hollow mask vanished, already reaching its time limit.

"So it has a time…" anything she wanted to say died out when Ichigo began to attack her, blow after blow was blocked by the Nemesis.

Ichigo suddenly brought both blades together in a 'X' manner, Nemesis-Rukia blocked the blow easily, only to have her eyes widen when Ichigo forced her blade and his up, turning around while at it, giving her the back, this action confused her for just a second, Ichigo then lifted his right leg and rammed it at her unprotected stomach, making her gasp and fly away onto several trees and then to slam on a rock, leaving an imprint of her body in it.

Following the attack, Ichigo aimed his two finger of his left hand at her, concentrating his reiatsu on the impossible attack for shinigamis.

"CERO!" he screamed, letting rip the super-concentrated energy beam that impacted dead on Nemesis-Rukia chest, making her yell in defiance, not in pain, Ichigo gritted his teeth in annoyance, he then rose Zangetsu, reiatsu already gathered on the blade.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" he let out another arc of pure energy at nemesis-Rukia.

**BOOM!**

This time the arc of energy met its mark, leveling the spot nemesis-Rukia was, much to his satisfaction, but still he didn't gave the battle as won.

He was proven right when Nemesis-Rukia began to emerge out of the rubble, the only visible damage to her was that she was missing her left sleeve.

"That's all you got Rayearth? Then I am quite disappointed!" she snarled, Ichigo simply narrowed his eyes, blurring out of sight again, nemesis-Rukia didn't liked when he did that, rising her blade she blocked Zangetsu, without looking behind her, then actually turned, punching Ichigo on the face and sending him flying away, but he was able to right himself in mid-air and retaliate with another Getsuga Tenshou, the energy arc being deflected by a flick of Nemesis-Rukia's wrist.

In the same movement, Nemesis-Rukia brought her blade downwards, generating a tart like made arc of energy, Ichigo brought Ignis up, meeting the energy wave head-on, using his inhuman strength he deflected the wave to his left, only to see Nemesis-Rukia already upon him, a smirk on her face, blade poised to stab him in the face.

"DIE!" then she stabbed, Ichigo reacted by cocking his head to his right, his left cheek being grazed by the blade, hissing in pain, actual pain, Ichigo had to remind himself that the nemesis was a whole different opponent, one that just let itself open for a counter.

Taking just one step back, to give himself distance, Ichigo struck.

"GGGUUUUUUUAAAAAAHHHH!"

Nemesis-Rukia screamed in rage and pain as Zangetsu found home inside her stomach, the zanpakutou massive size piercing her petit frame, and making tart like blood to pour out of the wound.

Ichigo stared at the gasping nemesis, the eyes of the beast taking an unholy glint or red and black, rage basically pouring of the ocular gloves.

Then Ichigo kicked Nemesis-Rukia away, exposing the massive hole on her stomach, "Getsuga Tenshou!" and let the signature move of his zanpakutou fly, impacting the defenseless nemesis and sending it away onto a rock wall.

Not satisfied by this he donned his hollow mask, jammed Zangetsu on the ground and then held Ignis high over his head, **"Incendia Vesica!"** this time he called a powerful arc of flames, enhanced with his hollow powers, the blade of fire traveled to the still fallen form of the nemesis, hitting it with a mighty boom.

Not satisfied with this however, Ichigo again grabbed Zangetsu, reiatsu pouring out of the blade, **"Let's see you endure this!" **he called, and started swinging both blades, each time an arc of either pure concentrated reiatsu or flames would come out of the blades, all aimed at the nemesis, each one meeting its mark with deadly accuracy.

This lasted for a whole minute, after that Ichigo stopped his assault, then rammed both blades to the ground and then clapped his hand together, both hands glowing then purple, immediately he separated them, a purple ball of telekinetic energy already formed.

With a yell Ichigo launched the telekinetic ball, the ball impacting the nemesis with deadly accuracy, and causing a massive explosion, also it caused that the rock wall to collapse over the form of the nemesis.

Ichigo panted slightly, his mask vanishing, then taking a deep breath, he straighten himself up, taking both Zangetsu and Ignis and slinging them both over his back in a 'X' manner.

"Uff…for a legendary creature…it wasn't so tough" he said, looking at the horizon and seeing the smoke trails over Seireitei, the nemesis was already dealt with, and so those who helped Aizen, pity he didn't dealt with him, it would have made things easier.

"_**Indeed ichigito, this was easy…" **_Fira said in Ichigo's mind as he took a great leap and vanished in mid-air, flash-stepping towards Seireitei.

"_**Far too easy"**_

* * *

The rubble in which she was buried didn't hinder her, in fact it was kinda comfy, or as comfy you can be after being buried alive.

But to her it didn't matter, she waited until Ichigo was well away, and then she moved, with a mighty push to her body, she easily lifted the rocks over her frame.

Now free, Nemesis-Rukia gave one hate filled glare at the retreating Ichigo, not only because she hated the Rayearth knights, but because his last attacks hurt like a bitch.

Reaching for her stomach she groaned in annoyance when she felt a hole in it, she could easily poke her hand to her back through the hole on her stomach, but it was better if she didn't.

She should have expected something like this, she wasn't at the peak of her strength, neither was Ichigo, this helped her, had he been a slight stronger than her, she would most assuredly died under the rubble.

Walking around she reached the corpses of Faeron and Eurania, the fools, they actually believed she would help them, true they helped her gain a form, so their deaths were not as horrible as of those who presumed much of being allied with a Nemesis.

Faeron had nothing of interest in him, but Eurania did, taking the crystal shaped key of her clothes, Nemesis-Rukia had now the means to leave this dimension and rejoin her brethren.

True she would surely be punished by her lord for escaping, but right now what mattered was to gather forces, the knights were already fighting a lost battle, they just had to arrive to Crystalia to realize of this.

Taking the crystal key on her hands, Nemesis-Rukia broke it in two, immediately a rift between time and space opened before her, a gateway to her home world, this battle had left her tired and wounded, and she had learned much of the new Rayearth.

Her lord would be pleased with all this information.

With that thought in mind, Nemesis-Rukia stepped into the portal, and this one closed behind her.

Ichigo wouldn't see her in a long time.

* * *

"You felt that didn't ya?" Yoruichi asked to Shinji.

"Hard not to, all things considering" Shinji said with that ever present smirk on his face, Hiyori by her part wanted to beat them both down with her sandals, but considering their current situation, that is not an option.

The wraiths, while numerous and downright scary without their tattered cloaks and hoods covering them, were no match for Seireitei best, the captains mowed them down, but it took them some time, after all the wraiths were the dark lord bulk of its army, numerous, deadly in numbers, often called 'the dark horde' the wraiths truly prove to be and enemy the average shinigami and the unprepared cannot overcome without thinking fast, or having overwhelming power and equally overwhelming destructive attacks, something all captains had.

As for the situation, it was quite simple, the captain-commander was not having an uprising in his watch, not even if the queen was siding with those who were against him, so in short, once the wraiths were dealt with, rather fast an in an anticlimactic manner, most of the shinigami force turned against them, they were yet to make a move, and so far the only reiatsu spike that has been felt has been the one of Ichigo going ape-shit crazy against the nemesis, and surely killing the nemesis.

Yoruichi sighed at that, looking around their group consisted of the original Ryoka group, now plus Isshin, Shinji, Ichigo's sisters, Unohana, Isane, the still unconscious Rukia, a very wounded Renji and Masaki.

It was the presence of several captains that had joined them I their battle against Aizen and the captain-commander and of course the fact the queen herself was standing in front of them, no one dared to move a muscle, even more considering that the actions the people who Masaki supported had allowed to weed out a traitor.

Everyone was waiting, expecting, just, sitting there, waiting for something, whatever it was, but no one could deny that a false move could set a chain reaction that could be bad in the long run, last thing they needed was to hurt the mother of a Rayearth, some captains had been on the receiving end of that rage just a few days ago, and they were not going to repeat that, thank you very much.

"This…is starting to unnerved me" Uryuu whispered to Orihime, the busty girl nodded at this, her eyes darted around every shinigami around, by know everyone had noted that both her and Uryuu had used the massive size of Seireitei and its force to sneak in, using just a pair of shinigami robes and the story they were new recruits fortunate enough to be around a captain to shield them of the worse of the reiatsu wave.

"What are we waiting?" Hiyori asked to Yoruichi, "We are waiting for Ichigo, remember, we came together, we leave together, no one is left behind" Chad stated behind Hiyori, the small Vizard slightly grinded at this, this was the kind of loyalty that one would expect of her group after 100 years of hanging together through thick and thin.

It didn't take long before Ichigo actually appeared, landing between the group and the shinigami, he didn't look too bad, all things considering, no heavy wounds considering his opponent, he looked fine, or as fine you can look with a scowl like his on his face.

That scowl of course lessened when he saw his sisters, his mom and dad, alongside his friends, all fine and not wounded, that was good, of course his scowl didn't vanished because of the shinigami force around them, Ichigo simply gave every shinigami around him a long look before reaching for Zangetsu, immediately every shinigami was on guard, waiting for the inevitable battle.

"No Ichigo…enough" Masaki said, making Ichigo relent immediately, advancing at the group and taking in the glances of several of the shinigami around him, mostly hostile, others held him in great respect, mostly of the 11th division, along with some captains and several members of the 4th division, Hanatarou included.

Once he made it to the group, he turned to the captain-commander, "I hope you're happy, you gave Aizen what he wanted the most on a silver plate, and even more" Ichigo declared, not noticing how Masaki unsheathed her zanpakutou and stabbed it in the air, immediately a Senkaimon was opened, this one in pure black, with gold like ornaments around the frame.

"I swear it, if something happens to my family for this…after I'm done with Aizen, you will follow him…balance be dammed" Ichigo said, turning around, finally spotting the door in the middle and his friend entering in it, recognizing it as a Senkaimon for the palace, Ichigo was the last to enter the door, and once he entered it, the door closed, disappearing like any other Senkaimon.

Yamamoto simply narrowed his eyes, but did nothing to answer Ichigo's claim, after all he was right, they had been manipulated, even more, disclosed the once unknown identity of the spirit queen, of her family.

"…Shunsui, Ukitake, start looking around in the archives, I want to know if Aizen had access to them, Kenpachi, you and your division track any of those wraiths alongside the 2nd division with Soifon, 4th division, treat the wounded, the rest…just regroup" the captain-commander said, everyone did as commanded, but with hesitation.

After all the Rayearth of fire basically claimed he would kill the captain-commander if even a scratch turned on his family for today's actions.

No one doubted he wouldn't do it.

* * *

The imperial palace was something Isshin has longed to see in a long time, the garden even more, but his family came first, his immediate family, his wife, his son and daughters, they came first than his old man and brother, than his duty as heir of the throne.

But returning to his old home, to a place that held so many memories…it brought him back to simple days, to days when nothing was complicated, when all was black and white.

But when he met Masaki, he saw the shades of grey he had been shielded all his life, even more when he became a shinigami, maybe he had vanished to be with Masaki, but he was still the heir of the throne, it still eluded him how Central 46 was able to convinced his father that he was killed by Gillians, even more considering that there were methods to keep track of every member of the royal family.

But that mattered little now, it seemed the worse was over, for the moment at least, while Aizen had left, with the most valuable things, the Hōgyoku, the identity of the spirit family, and of course put the entire shinigami force on a worse state Ichigo had left them, after all Ichigo didn't kill no one on his rampage, Aizen had slaughtered central 46, he had manipulated several shinigami without them even knowing for the past…Kami knows how many years, like a puppet master, no one noticed the string on the puppets until he decided to cut the strings and discard the puppets.

While he would have been happy that Ichigo had nailed Aizen with that cero, or had tried to cut the negacion field with Ignis, he was proud, more than ever of his son, of his family, he felt…very happy.

"Sugoi" Orihime breathed behind him, Isshin had to smile at this, Ichigo had such loyal friends, they had come with him for Rukia, for a girl they didn't knew, to help her, it was good.

"Retsu, Isane, place Rukia-chan and Abarai-san on the ground and start treating them" Isshin told, which to both medics was not something he should ask, they were already working on their patients, after a minute, Retsu left the unconscious Rukia on the ground, turning to Ichigo, "Kurosaki-san, Hanatarou-kun told me he gave you Kuchiki-san's zanpakutou, place it on her, it will aid her in recovering her reiatsu and soul stability" Retsu said, Ichigo, knowing that the nemesis had basically clawed its way out of Rukia, did as told, placing Sode no Shirayuki on Rukia's hands.

With that done, Retsu could focus on Renji who presented the most grave external wounds of them all, "It seems Kuchiki-taichou didn't like too much having his lieutenant turning on him" Retsu said softly, glowing hands hovering over Renji's open wounds, "He has lost a lot of blood, but he will recover, is just a matter of time" she stated as she and Isane began to heal Renji.

"Good, as soon you finish with Renji, I want you and Isane to take both Rukia and Renji back to Soul Society…with an escort" Masaki stated seriously, Ichigo was about to answer, until he gave it a long thought, and nodded at her.

"They need to be in their environment to recover properly, while Seireitei is covered by a barrier that prevents most shinigami can do in the human world and outside Seireitei, no one can deny the rich amount of spiritual energy in the area, they need it to recover" Masaki said, earning a nod of Ichigo and Retsu, albeit by the sour look of Ichigo he didn't like it.

"…I guess…mission accomplished then?" Uryuu said, Ichigo held a groan after that, but didn't say anything to deny it, after all he was right, it was mission accomplished after all.

"Maybe, but I don't like the fact we have to leave her with them, not after all that happened" Ichigo replied, not only referring to Rukia, but to also Renji, who had gone against his own captain to help Rukia.

"Maybe, but this has to happen, for the time being" Masaki stated solemnly, truth to be told she really wanted to keep Rukia away of Seireitei after all this fiasco, and the fact it was ruled by someone who held grudges to a new degree, well she didn't like the concept of Rukia and Renji being left there, alone, but it had to happen.

"So…now what?" Uryuu asked once again, seeing that the topic had been put down rather easy by Masaki, albeit he had to wonder who she was, just like Orihime and Chad.

"Now Ishida…we go home, all of us" Ichigo said softly, looking at Masaki with a slight smile, "Indeed, it's been awhile since I been on my home…I hope you are not feeding junk to my babies" Masaki said, turning a slight glare to Isshin, the man by his part looked kinda ashamed.

"Well…in the first two years maybe, but I swear Yuzu-chan learned fast, honest" Isshin said, Masaki simply narrowed her eyes, Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu simply snorted at the sight, it was not every day they saw their father being scolded in such a way.

"You…look familiar" Chad stated slowly, looking at Masaki, "I feel…like I have seen your face…somewhere" Chad stated.

"Yeah…our kitchen" Karin said, making all blink at that, even Masaki, there Chad eyes widened at that statement, now realizing who the woman was.

"But you're dead" Chad said, in that Masaki smiled, "You should know, that little can truly stop a determined mother, not even a Rayearth can hope to accomplish that" Masaki said, her words weren't lost to the others who didn't knew who was Ichigo's mother, of course it was until she turned to the three Kurosaki siblings, looking at them sternly.

"I hope you three are doing well in school, you might be old but not enough to get a spanking of your mother"

The implications caused the group to basically go eye wide, especially Shinji, "You're telling me HE is the son of the queen!" Shinji and Hiyori asked/yelled, eyes wide, not believing what they were hearing.

"Why yes, of course Isshin is the direct heir by default, but since he abandoned the throne, and his brother died, I, as his wife, became the ruler" Masaki said, "Is kinda confusing, but you get used to it" she added, while the teens, meaning Ishida, Orihime and Chad were digesting the fact that Isshin was in fact royalty, and Ichigo's mother was not as dead as many believed, Shinji and Yoruichi had their eyes narrowed at this.

"Well, now what?" Orihime asked, really glad that it was all over, and of this trip not only she learned of her strength and weakness, but got some clothes out of it.

"This is far from over" Hiyori said, crossing her arms and staring at the big-breasted teenager with a serious frown upon her visage.

"In case you didn't hear him, Aizen basically said he needed to dispose of the royal family to achieve his goal" the small blond stated, eyes narrowed to slits, "Thanks to Yamamoto utter stubbornness and inability to see the greater picture, Aizen now knows the identity of the royal family, of each member" Hiyori stated, looking at the Kurosaki family.

"The king, the queen, the prince and princesses, he knows their faces, their names, more importantly, he holds an item I believed was destroyed long ago" Shinji added, "The Hōgyoku, is that powerful?" Ichigo wondered, "It is, 110 years ago, Hiyori, me and several other shinigami were infected with a hollow virus strain that basically began to turn us into hollows, but Urahara was able to save us, using that thing to stabilize our bodies, thus we became the first Vizards, so you see, that thing is too powerful, so powerful it was able to create a new species of shinigami and hollows out of scratch" Shinji stated.

"And now Aizen has is, and by the looks of it, he has already used it, if that blond woman who slashed Ichigo is of any indication, I felt hollow reiatsu in her" Yoruichi said, Ichigo narrowed his eyes at that, of all things that could have happened, this was the one he least expected, of course he knew someone who expected this, besides Aizen.

"Fira" Ichigo growled, the moment he uttered her name, the guardian was already on her bird form, on Ichigo's shoulder, "You knew this was going to happen didn't ya?"

"**That I did ichigito" **Fira answered, everyone observed how Ichigo and Fira talked with each other with some trepidation, not knowing what to do here.

"And why you allowed it, there had to be other ways to prevent this" Ichigo stated, **"Funny thing about being able to see the future is that once you see one path, a billion more will branch out of possible outcomes of that future, it is the outcome of toying with the time stream" **Fira stated.

"My sisters were kidnapped, one of my friends was nearly killed, we nearly started a damn civil war in Seireitei!" Ichigo snapped.

"**I know that, your sisters kidnapping was not meant to happen, but it did, like I told you I didn't foresaw that, comes to show you that the future is not set on stone, like Draconax stated to me, seeing the future is like seeing a parade, you can see the turns that it will make, and the turns it will not make, the civil war was unavoidable, in every path taken, war consumed Seireitei, change is a powerful adversary, one not even Yamamoto can hope to face, whenever it was by your actions or the actions of your mother this would happen, oddly enough this path, our current one is the less bloodstained, compared to the others"**

"The less? I nearly killed two guys you know" Ichigo said, **"I know, in another path you would have ripped Yamamoto's still beating heart when he carried the execution of Rukia and your sisters, then burned Seireitei, advancing then towards Hueco Mundo and raising hell itself on the hollow's land, on another path your friends were killed by Byakuya, and in retribution you killed his family, Rukia included, and then killed him using his own zanpakutou, as I said, this was the less bloodstained, but I assure you ichigito, it will be hardest to trek"**

"So until here you can say with certainty that we did was well, right?" Isshin said, **"Yes, I dared not to see beyond, I'm a guardian, not a god, I would have grown overconfident if I had seen beyond this events, I knew Ichigito, even at his lowest of Rayearth abilities would have succeeded in his quest up to this point, remember that he is still alive, with a beating heart that still pumps warm blood on his veins, able to interact with the world around him, he still has something you shinigami and vizards have lost with years of hunting hollows and living long, boring lives" **Fira remarked, gazing on the two vizards, Unohana and Isane.

"And…that is?" Isane asked, **"Easy, hope, after years of fighting against hollows, a shinigami will grow to accept their dull lives, never changing, never causing a significant change or outcome, but Ichigito is different, he knows what is to make a difference, to strive for something beyond becoming strong, to live"** Fira stated, her eyes glancing at each person on the room.

"**You will need that perseverance more than ever now, Aizen is an opponent that is both powerful and skillful in the arts of deception, he sees this as a big game of chess, where pawns are used in a wanton manner, and he has a limitless supplies of pawns to him to use and test every experiment he thinks off" **Fira added, **"Furthermore, Aizen thinks towards the future, he is patient, and knows what to expect of every single person he has made enemy and has come across, so be ready for everything, that tanned woman, she is an example of what he preparing for this long winter war" **

Those words of Fira made every person there to take a deep gulp and wonder what Aizen was really planning, Ichigo in particular, after all Aizen had proclaimed he wanted to sit above the heavens, a position not even his mother had taken, but to do that he would need to kill his family.

"_That only will happen over my dead body" _Ichigo proclaimed in his mind, he could feel Zangetsu and his hollow persona nodding at that, hollow Ichigo with more eagerness, and Fira actually joining that.

All they all could do was wait, wait for Aizen to make his first move.

* * *

Hueco Mundo, the home of the hollows, a place of nightmares for most shinigami, while the human realm was their battleground, no side dared to enter either side of the other, no hollow trekked to Soul Society, regardless of the amount of souls that could easily augment their powers if consumed, they were not going to risk being purified for a snack they could get in Hueco Mundo, at the same time shinigami didn't went to Hueco Mundo for the staggering amount of hollows there, it would be suicide to do that.

In what seemed the middle of the endless desert lay a cubical fortress, several pillars around it, all in white, contrasting with the eternal night of Hueco Mundo, Las Noches was truly a sight to behold , ever more considering the story of the structure.

Once the home of Barragan, the god of Hueco Mundo, a very powerful hollow that could, just with a flick of his wrist, reduce you to nothing, now the structure became in position of another individual, one more powerful than Barragan ever was, and more cunning that the brash god of Hueco Mundo.

Aizen strode on the halls of Las Noches, a confident smirk on his face, flanking him were Gin and Tousen, their attires now different than what they used to wear.

Their steps echoed on the halls, it was a long time before the trio reached somewhere, that somewhere was in fact a large meeting hall, with a middle table with ten seats, on the edge of the table lay what seemed a throne overlooking the meeting table.

Aizen, if slowly, began to make a walk towards the throne, Gin and Tousen waiting, expecting a call of their leader.

Once Aizen has positioned himself on the throne, he looks over Gin and Tousen, while one looks at him with that fox like smile, the other stares at the space, Aizen doesn't minds at all.

"Now…Gin, Tousen, let's begin…bring the hollows in, I will see who of those are worthy of becoming my espada" he stated, looking at the two shinigami defectors as they walked away, following his orders.

Aizen wondered, really wondered when all would come to a close, this was the beginning of a new era, of a new beginning, win or lose, his actions would forever change the face of both Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.

Leaning in, and supporting his chin with his hand, Aizen began to plan, to think, to create measures an counter-measures for all he was going to do, he now held important information with him, the identity of the royal family, oh he didn't expect to meet them all so soon, he really didn't, come to show how chaotic and unpredictable life can really be, not even he could have foresee this kind of thing happening.

In any case he had to wait to do anything against the royal family, trying to attack them so openly would only incur in the wrath of the Rayearth of fire, and truth to be told, Aizen is not too keen on seeing the army he amassed for over 110 years and the plans he has made being reduced to less than charcoal in five minutes.

He had to plan this carefully, as he told Ichigo before, his plan was already in motion, and not even a god would stop him, it helped too that Ichigo had crippled Seireitei both in body and pride.

Aizen smiled as he reached for his pockets, on his right hand holding the Hōgyoku, gleaming like the rare gem it was, then looking to his left hand, holding an exact replica of the Hōgyoku he took of Rukia.

If one thing Aizen exceeded the most was being patient, he could wait a thousand years just for his plan to work, but in this case a month would suffice, after all they wouldn't expect him to strike so fast.

With a smile on his face, Aizen looked down at the first three espada he had empowered; each one of them had been a Vasto Lorde class, the strongest of the hollows, now they were unique in every sense of the word, part hollow, part shinigami, the anti-thesis of the Vizards.

Arrancars.

"My dear Arrancars" Aizen began, staring at the trio or Arrancars, his first three, a fallen king, a woman willing to sacrifice herself and a man who didn't want to be alone.

"Let's begin"

* * *

**_and there you have it people, another chapter done and gone, I know many will complain for the shortness of the chapter, especially after such a time dedicated to it, but i will compensate you all with the next chapter, which will be longer than this one, and will have add several things both cannon and filler from the anime, not the actual filler, but rather the fillers before aizen's defeat, i haven't seen those chapters yet, and by the looks of it i don't want to._**

**_beyond that, read, review and enjoy, is all i can ask you all fellow readers and writters._**

**_until a next time this is Hypn0s! live well! work hard and reap what is rightfully yours._**

**_see ya!_**


	13. 12: The calm

**_Hello my faithful readers, it is I! Hypn0s, giving you all another chapter of ichigo the inferno, which was long overdue I suppose._**

**_Now i know some people want to flay me alive for taking this long with this particular chapter, especially considering that most of my stories have a month lag between chapter and chapter, or a week long depending motivation, time and inspiration juices flowing, and a lot of people will complain for the short chapter, in standards to most chapter, this is because this is the penultimate chapter, meaning the last chapter will be long, really long, fight, destruction, wanton annihilation and a lot of hollow bits flying left and right in preparation for the epilogue and the opening of the next story of the saga, hell i think this might be as long as the harry potter books, well not that long._**

**_Anyway, enough talk, let me give you the next chapter, enjoy._**

* * *

**CHAPTER 12: THE CALM**

_**One month later… **_

"Ichi-nii, don't forget your lunch!" Yuzu called as she held a bento box on her hands, the eldest of the siblings seemed to return of the street in a flash, grabbing the bento box of her hands, "Thanks Yuzu, you're a lifesaver" Ichigo called, his school uniform well groomed and clean, even more than usual.

"You're surely on a hurry" Karin remarked drily, looking at her brother sprint towards the exit of their home, "I dealt with three Gillians last night, at midnight dammit!" Ichigo called out, closing the door behind him and running away, Karin simply shrugged at that, it was not that he could be defeated by the Gillians, she had seen him crush the head of one with just his telekinesis, just to see if it worked as well as using his zanpakutou to purify them, apparently the only thing it did was to leave a massive body he had to hack with Zangetsu so it could be purified.

And she understood what he meant, the spirit was directly connected to the body in both stamina and endurance, obviously the many scars her brother had on his spiritual form were transferred to his empty body once he entered and if he was awakened at midnight and had to leave his body, his spiritual body would take the charge of being awaken at such hour and remain awake at that hour.

No wonder he looked so tired during breakfast, no matter how powerful he is, he is still taking charge of EVERY hollow attack in Karakura town, ever since the shinigami withdrew their forces of the area, the cowards.

"Kaa-san, can't you spare some guards to help light the load on Ichi-nii? He is burning himself up" Karin called, looking at the woman she called mother, long dark smooth hair held on a ponytail, already clad on a nurse attire, with deep green eyes and tanned skin, no one could actually say that this woman was in fact Masaki Kurosaki, on a Gigai.

Masaki Kurosaki, for the world was as good as dead, body buried and already eaten by the maggots, there was no way in hell she would walk around in a Gigai made to resemble her down to the last detail, they could have say that she had another name and she never knew this Masaki, the theory that everyone on this world has an identical twin, or something close, but someone that was in fact a carbon copy not, so instead Urahara made a Gigai out of several women appearances, the result? A woman that while had the face and body features of Masaki, was all but identical to her, after all a tanned beauty with long black hair would be easily confused as a foreign intern living with the Kurosaki family and helping on the clinic.

"Not possible dear, most of them are in the palace, guarding it, the others are keeping tabs on the family, Ichigo included, they will intervene when things get ugly, but beyond that they can't do anything else, their bows doesn't allow them to do this" Masaki, or better said Maria replied, making Karin sigh.

"And you and dad can't do it too because you're too busy with the clinic, me and Yuzu are at school and all that jazz, and you won't let us even use our zanpakutous with 'adult supervision'" Karin said.

"You know why Karin-chan, while you have released your zanpakutous, you still lack some finesse and experience" Masaki stated.

"Ichi-nii is as inexperienced as me and Yuzu!" Karin snapped incredulously, "He is a fast learned, and unlike you two, he has a hollow inside him that gives him a boost of power and near god-like powers to heal himself of even the worse injuries, both internal and external, sans dismembering" Masaki stated calmly, sipping some tea.

Karin blanched at the dismembering part, then reminded herself that most of their opponents, hollows included fought with claws, blades and teeth, sometimes acid and something that can explode.

"I guess you're right…but that's why we are training right? I mean in any moment Ichi-nii will be called to Crystalia to fulfill his mystical duty as knight in a battle that will put shame to other battles, then someone has to step into the protection of the town, what better choice than us?" Karin wondered.

"Better trained shinigami?" Yuzu asked as she cleaned the plates, "Not helping!"

Masaki simply shook her head, finishing her tea then placing it on the sink, looking at both girls sternly, "I think you two have school as well, so dress up and get moving, just because you have powers doesn't mean you will miss school especially you Karin-chan" so said girl chuckled nervously as she made her way alongside with Yuzu to their room to dress up for their day in school.

Masaki slightly smiled, a sad one that is, she had missed so much of her babies lives, it was a sad thing, she hated it, she wished she could take time back, return at the moment Ichigo saw that girl, and just force him with her away of the girl, that dammed lure…

"You're leaking reiatsu dear, you're angry" Isshin voice made Masaki snap out of her anger, sighing she turned around, spotting Isshin, already dressed for a day's work, "You know that holding feelings of revenge will only make you bitter" Isshin said, reminding her of Yamamoto's grudge against the Rayearth knights, and how things had turned out.

"I know dear, but if it wasn't for that damn hollow, if it wasn't for Grand Fisher, I would be still alive, I would have not missed my babies lives, how they grew up, I died and Ichigo stopped smiling altogether, Yuzu burdened herself with the housework, and Karin, she acts thought, but deep down she is still a little girl" Masaki stated.

"Don't I know it?" Isshin said, slipping his arms around her waist, "I saw them change every day, it was so sudden, and I was unable to do something to stop it, sometimes I feel guilty by doing nothing to stop it" Isshin said.

"…The past is in the past" she began, looking at the spot her son had left, "Now the only thing that we can do is to help them grow, even more than before, that is a parent's work" Isshin said, "Besides…with what's coming ahead, we should be able to give them some semblance of normality" Isshin finished, much to the amusement of Masaki.

"Isshin, their big brother is a shinigami who holds a powerful hollow inside him and holds one of the greatest powers a mortal could hold, his mother is dead and now using an artificial body to interact with the living world, and the girls are also reapers, I think normality is far beyond their reach" she stated with mirth, making Isshin roll his eyes.

"Never mind then, let's open the clinic…I want to parade my hot new nurse" Masaki's answer to his words was a whack to the head.

"Come on your horndog, we got patients to treat"

* * *

"Inoune, Chad, Ishida" Ichigo called, looking at his friends waiting for him on the near corner, usually it had been Chad who would wait for him in that spot, but after the Soul Society fiasco, as Ishida had begun calling it, Ishida and Orihime began to join Ichigo and Chad in that spot as well, mostly because Orihime wanted to be near Ichigo, making sure no wraiths would pop around, and Ishida was staying near Orihime, kami knows the reason why.

In any case, this fits Ichigo well enough, after all he didn't know them well enough, including Inoune, but after what they went through, the bond that had been there was strengthened by the events, and besides, what kind of people would go with him to a practical suicide mission to save someone they barely know? The answer, good friends.

The group made their way towards Karakura High School with ease, which was something odd considering that Karakura Town is a hollow hotspot, but so far no inexplicable incidents or inexplicable damages to the city, a hollow once in a while, but nothing Ichigo couldn't handle.

"It has been…an uneventful week" Ishida began, "I have barely lifted my bow to attack before the hollows vanish" he stated, "Because I deal with them" Ichigo stated, looking at the Quincy dead in the eyes.

"Indeed, but I find odd that only Gillians and Adjuchas class hollows have appeared so far, is like they are being lured by something" Ishida said.

"More like ordered to, they attack nothing but me" Ichigo said, making the Quincy frown, "That's not right, while you're the greatest source of spiritual energy around, you're not the only source of it, Karakura Town is a spiritually rich area, which might explain why there are so many spiritual aware individuals, even before you became a shinigami" Ishida explained.

"It has sense that they would attack you, it would also have sense they would be attacking your sisters, your mother and father, attacking your home, converging into it, yet they do not, they come at you, only you, they don't even prey on pluses around the city" he added.

"Which is annoying, have you tried to send a plus to the afterlife while holding two Gillians with just your mind? It ain't easy, not to mention the pluses are scared of me after I'm done with the hollows" Ichigo stated.

"It might involve you breathing fire and I don't know…scaring them with your presence alone?" Ichigo just scowled at Ishida, the Quincy felt a sense of accomplishment after shutting Ichigo down, "You are just envious, I did what many Quincy have desired all their lives" Ichigo stated as a matter of fact, Ishida didn't had and argument to fight that back because it was true, Ichigo had done what many Quincy had desired for many generations, hurt the shinigami, in their pride, hard, fast and brutally he might add, the fact a shinigami/human/hollow hybrid with near unlimited power and part of the shinigami royalty had done it made it just sweeter.

It might explain why his dad had send Ichigo a whole set of Quincy grabs, not that the orange-haired shinigami substitute will wear them, his sister's find them classy thought.

As the foursome approached a near construction site, a usual for the next two years of their high-school life, Ichigo suddenly tensed up, stopping suddenly and staring at the construction site, narrowing his eyes at this.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime called, Ichigo didn't pay her mind, instead he just pulled a green pill and popped it to his mouth, immediately his spirit was separated of his body, if Chad, Orihime and Uryuu weren't worried they were now.

"Kon, I want you and the rest go to school, I need to check up on something" Ichigo ordered, turning around of his still standing and utterly confused body now in possession on a very perverted soul-mod.

"Sure Ichigo!" Kon called happily, mind already wandering to many thing he could do to land on the valley of the 'gods' as Kon happily called the girls breasts.

"Chad, if Kon tries anything perverted hit him on the head, then you tell me, I think Yuzu has a new dress she wants Kon to try" Ichigo said with a slight sadistic smile, Kon immediately panicked and then straighten himself up.

"I'll be good, I'll be good"

"Good, I don't want anyone following me" Ichigo stated clearly, blurring away of the sight of the group, Orihime bit her lip at this, not wanting to leave Ichigo go out alone, especially if he felt something dangerous, Ishida knew this as well, but he also knew that Ichigo was strong enough to deal with anything that might attack him or his family and friends personally, besides Aizen is not stupid enough to try a frontal assault against a Rayearth, let alone a sneak attack.

Right?

Shacking that idea off, Ishida grabbed Orihime's shoulder and guided her away of the construction site, idly noting the lack of sound on the construction site, surely the workers had yet to arrive.

* * *

Ichigo kept a vigilant eye around the steel beams that composed the base of the building, since it was a fresh start on a building, small mountains of dirt, alongside with removed rocks, some flattened sectors and exposed ground, showing pipes were visible, and while the base wasn't finished completely, they had already put a roof underneath it, just to ensure that the sun or rain were to affect the construction.

Pulling Zangetsu out, Ichigo tried to determine the location of the presence he had felt, he was damn sure he had felt the presence of a hollow/shinigami, similar to the one of the tanned woman that had attacked him a month ago.

While he had felt it in just a passing, he had felt it nonetheless, showing that the training he had been undergoing with Fira to hone his senses was indeed working, if he was able to feel a presence even with his massive reiatsu flooding his senses, then it meant he was progressing, while it was no combat abilities, which Fira admitted he excelled at, he was indeed making some progress.

Some pebbles falling to the ground made him turn around, only to see nothing there, or at least he believed he did.

In a blink of an eye he had turned again, this time raising Zangetsu and ramming it to the hollow that had tried to sneak on him, cutting the hollow neatly in two, then punched a hole on another hollow to his left, right on the stomach, then decapitating a third hollow that looked like a gorilla crossed with a raptor, all in less than a second.

With that done, Ichigo focused his sight on the hollow impaled on his left arm, the hollow trashed and tried to slash his arm, with little success, his increase of reiatsu had allowed Ichigo to do the same as Kenpachi, harden his skin up to the point he could not be harmed by weaker beings, meaning newly born hollows or hollows that had yet to reach a stage of evolution.

Seeing that the hollow was now a mindless beast, unlike Acidwire, Orihime's long deceased brother, Ichigo raised Zangetsu and cleanly beheaded the hollow, releasing it of its suffering.

"_**You know king, this is odd, is the first time in over a month we have dealt with a very lesser hollow" **_his inner hollow reminded Ichigo, _"He is right, Gillians and Adjuchas have been our adversaries for over a month, now we deal with lesser non-evolved hollows, it is a matter of concern" _Zangetsu added.

"Yeah, but considering the amounts of high level hollows I have been purifying for the past month I'm not surprised, just…concerned" Ichigo added.

"_**Ichigito, just because you have killed a ridiculous amount of hollows and surely accumulated a bounty big enough to spend in Soul Society doesn't mean they are all Hueco Mundo can offer, there are more than just decided to stay there rather than risk facing a shinigami, unlike humans and shinigamis, hollows don't get stronger by training, they get stronger by consuming other hollows"**_

Knowing that the cannibalistic nature of the hollows was the only reason they could grow stronger, Ichigo began to walk around, checking the area where the hollows had come, only to stop when he saw the bodies of several workers, no sign of their souls, surely consumed by the hollows, this left him with quite a sour taste on his mouth.

Shaking his head, Ichigo wielded the wraps on Zangetsu's hilt to wrap around the blade, and then he brought it to his back…

Only to turn around yet again and try to hit the one behind him, his eyes widening when Zangetsu was punched out of his hand, three fasts fists meeting his gut and making his skid a little backwards, then a kick to the face that send him crashing on a steel beam, bending the beam upon impact.

Ichigo eyes snapped open in anger, his right arm catching the fist that sailed to his face, the shock registered by his attacker was mimicked by Ichigo when he realized what he was fighting against.

"He made more" was all Ichigo said as he released the fist and retaliated with a vicious jab to the ribs of the white clad humanoid that currently had a hollow hole on his abdomen, the punch was enough to send the humanoid hollow flying against another steel beam, there Ichigo could see his attacker more openly.

The humanoid hollow was as tall as he is, with spiky light-blue spiky hair and eyes, and also has green lines below them, similar to the eye markings on the Panthera genus of cats, his attire consists of a white hakama and a black sash; his white jacket is ragged with an upturned collar, the inner lining is black, the sleeves are rolled up, and the man wears it open, leaving a muscular chest revealed. The remains of his Hollow mask consist of the right jawbone, and his Hollow hole, as he saw before, is on his abdomen.

The human shaped hollow snarled at Ichigo after that blow, "You bastard, that actually hurt" the spiky haired man said, Ichigo cocked an eyebrow, "Good, it was meant to" was all Ichigo stated as he assumed a combat stance, fists brought together in front of him, like he had done many times with other jerks and high school gangbangers.

Slowly Ichigo began to circle the human hollow, the human hollow doing the same, a sneer on his face.

"So you're Kurosaki Ichigo" the man stated, more like an affirmation to himself rather that a question, "Yeah, what's it to you?" Ichigo asked, seeing how the man seemed aloof, not taking a combat stance, this basically meant to a fighter like him that the man was confident that he could take him without even assuming a stance.

"Not much, Harribel mentioned a human with shinigami powers far beyond anything seen before, not even flinching to her attacks, I thought she was speaking of a giant, a man worth fighting, now I only a brat playing hero, pathetic" the man said as he spat on the ground, Ichigo simply narrowed his eyes at this.

"So you came here to see if what that woman said was true, only to be disappointed…bastard" Ichigo hissed, blurring out of sight, the man gave a feral grin as he effortlessly rose his right arm to block a punch to his face aimed to his right by Ichigo…

**BAMM!**

Only to have his eyes widen and his face to suddenly explode in pain as Ichigo fist overwhelmed him and punched him regardless of the hand holding his fist, the spiky haired hollow sailed to another steel beam, this time going through the solid steel by sheer momentum of the blow.

As he skidded to the ground in shock, the hollow just looked at Ichigo, wide eyes slowly narrowed, a grin growing on his face, standing up the man simply grinded, even more than before, "I see I underestimated you, that was a good blow" the man said, rubbing his face with the back of his hand, looking down he saw a small spot of blood there.

"_Inhuman strength is confirmed alright, he was able to bypass my Hierro with just a punch, must say I'm impressed…he is just a small lanky looking Yammi with a mean scowl, I don't know what Aizen sees in interesting on that asshole" _the hollow thought as he brushed his pants, then began to crack his knuckles, one by one.

"I must say I am impressed, just one fist and you put me through a metal beam with ease, but you need more than that to bypass my Hierro" the man said, Ichigo by his part rose an eyebrow at that, it was not a big think to Ichigo after all, he could do more, much more.

"I guess is fair to you know my name before I kill you" the man said, Ichigo by his part was getting a little restless by this man, it was like he was stalling him…for something.

"My name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez" the newly introduced Grimmjow stated, slowly making his way to Ichigo, "Oh and the asshole behind you is Yammi" now that caught Ichigo's attention, turning around he spotted what could only be described as a giant of a man, a giant Arrancar with tan skin and a ridge-lined cranium, brown eyes and black hair. He has long, bushy sideburns and a thin ponytail, aside from that, he is bald, he also has orange eye brows and red markings under his eyes, wearing a standard looking white uniform, with the jacket open, revealing he has a large hole in his chest signifying his previous time as a Hollow, what remains of his Hollow mask is the jawbone (complete with 8 teeth), which rests on his chin.

The man identified as Yammi lost no time and delivered a fast straight at Ichigo who ducked it with ease, at the same time wondering why the hell he is always enemies appearing behind him.

Jumping to his left side he avoided the axe like kick of Grimmjow, seeing how the blow opened a small crater on the ground, _"They are not so tough, that female one was able to cut me, these two however are either weaker than her or are simply fooling around" _he thought with a sneer, seeing that he was indeed right, those two were actually fooling around, another opponent would have followed his movement while dodging and tried to hit him while doing so, they didn't did that, not pressed for a further attack.

Ichigo hated to being toyed with, raising his hand he called Zangetsu, the zanpakutou returning to his hand just in time to block Yammi's meaty left fist, the blade cutting edge met Yammi's knuckles, the sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the construction site, Ichigo slightly blinked, then snarled, pushing Yammi's fist with ease he rose his right leg to block Grimmjow's kick to his stomach, the hollow was surprised when Ichigo held his ground with one leg after such blow.

"Underestimating me, last mistake of your life!" with that Ichigo roared as a telekinetic wave hit both hollows, hard, alongside a heat wave that slightly glassed the ground around Ichigo's feet.

Grimmjow gracefully recovered, Yammi not so much, landing on his butt the massive hollow growled and glared at Ichigo, with a scream he rushed at the Rayearth, only to be slightly blinded by a light, a light that became pain on his left arm, looking to his arm he saw another zanpakutou neatly stuck on his shoulder, his Hierro preventing it from going even further, "Tough luck, my Hierro is sturdy enough to take anything" Yammi boasted.

"Really?" Ichigo smirked, something Grimmjow saw well enough, in less than a second Grimmjow eyes widened when several small saw teeth emerged out of the red blade length, and with a jerk of his wrist, the teeth came to life, and began to serrate Yammi's arm off.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Yammi screamed loudly as Ignis easily butchered his left arm, blood pouring freely and seemingly no stopping at all, Ichigo had cut Yammi's arm up to the shoulder down.

Yammi cursed and screamed, but his screams became gurgles when he felt cold metal on his stomach, looking down he saw himself lifted up by Ichigo, his black zanpakutou stuck on his stomach.

With a sneer Ichigo pulled Zangetsu out of Yammi, then while falling, kicked him on the face, making Yammi's face to meet a metal beam head first.

Grimmjow actually blinked at the sight of the defeated and brutalized Yammi…and grinded like a damn lunatic.

Grimmjow reached for his sword, or would have if he had not been stopped by another person.

Ichigo tensed up after the appereance of the third hollow humanoid, this one, dressed in the same attire as Yammi, but groomed, well taken care of, with pale skin, green eyes with slit pupils, what seemed a helmet with a horn on top representing his hollow mask remnants, stared in a bored manner at Ichigo, like if Ichigo itself was nothing less than a bug, not entertaining, or just the guy was like this.

"Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow snarled, "You shouldn't have intervened, Ichigo is mine to kill" Ulquiorra seemed not to pay mind to Grimmjow, just raised his free hand, and pointed a finger at Ichigo.

"_The bastard" _Ichigo thought, knowing what would come next, a cero.

Suddenly Ichigo tensed, turning around he swung Zangetsu with all he had, and in a neat motion beheaded the giant that had tried to hit him from behind, Yammi's shock was expressed as his head flew away of his body, as he turned around, Ichigo brought Ignis up, blocking a green and black cero, the beam was torn in two, each beam hitting several support beams and causing the structure around them to start shacking.

As the building in construction began to fall, Ichigo simply stared at Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, narrowing his eyes at both of them, "Tell Aizen he better had made his will, if he dares get close to my family…" whatever he was going to say died out as the building fully collapsed, both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra leaving trough a Garganta.

The fall of a building brought the attention of several pedestrians; the cops were already on the way, along with ambulances.

No one noted how several metal beams were moved away with ease, all this by Ichigo's hand, looking around the shinigami saw several people, now thankful that only a handful could see the spirits, with a grunt he sheathed Zangetsu, returned Ignis to the crystal on his glove and jumped away of the sight, feeling somewhat happy with what he had done so far.

Aizen had attacked first, but Ichigo drew first blood and the first casualty on Aizen's army.

_**Karakura Town High School, fifteen minutes later…**_

"So let me get this straight, Aizen attacked first, but you already inflicted the first casualty on his army, am I correct?" Ishida asked to Ichigo; now back on his body, and lacking any kind of bruising that might resemble a female's handprint, or a fist.

"That about sums it up, yeah, although I'm pissed, they killed people to get my attention, they released several wild hollows to kill them, maybe too high and mighty to do the job themselves, cowards" Ichigo hissed, crossing his arms and basically scaring several people with his usual scowl.

"You didn't know how far they would go to get you Ichigo, don't blame yourself" Chad offered, making Ichigo sigh, "I know Chad, is just…dammit I wish I could have done something else, well at least that Yammi guy is dead, one down for the count" Ichigo added, more to himself than to the others.

"Kurosaki-kun, you shouldn't have send us away, we could have helped" Orihime stated firmly, only to hear Ichigo sigh, "I doubt it, those guys were strong, nearly captain class, even Yammi, but rage got the best of him, but those other two, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra if I heard right, they look like trouble, no" Ichigo shook his head, looking at each one of them straight in the eyes.

"If you want to help me you need to get stronger, stronger than you are now, I don't know how, but you must to, if you want to help" Ichigo stated seriously, he didn't like to tell them that, but he had already took down one of Aizen's soldiers, besides he could feel the power of those two, they were holding up, a lot.

"You might be correct, but at the same time you might not be correct, remember that Inoune powers far surpass yours, her power plays in rejecting everything, let it be powers or the existence of a person" Ishida stated.

"_**He is right ichigito, the girl has powers that gods fear, to reject the existence of a being is something akin to bitchslap the wheel of life, her powers are dangerous…Aizen will want them"**_Fira reminded Ichigo.

"_Then is a good thing he hasn't seen them in action, he knows about me and Ishida, about my sisters, my parents and every single shinigami in Seireitei, but Chad and Orihime are a mystery to him, we can use that" _Ichigo added.

"_A good call, but remember that Aizen has years playing this game, we cannot…we will not follow his path" _Zangetsu replied in some sort of anger.

"_I'm not saying become another Aizen, he is expecting me, he is expecting Seireitei…he is not expecting Inoune…he is not expecting an alliance between me and Seireitei"_

"_**Uh king, hate to break it to ya, but you burned that bridge and use its ashes to add pain to the wounds of the old fart, he won't accept an alliance" **_Hollow Ichigo stated, apparently concerned by this.

"_No, but what about the other captains, they know the menace Aizen is, they will help if I show that I'm not going to burn them to a crisp"_

"_In the end is your call Ichigo, I will help you in whatever you do"_

"_**You're wasting time king, we should we laying hell on Aizen fortress"**_

"_**We don't know where it is, it is on Hueco Mundo, but the place is vast, besides once ichigito lays a foot there, every hollow will be driven to a frenzy, they will either run and hide or basically charge against ichigito, his rich reiatsu will give them power beyond comparison" **_Fira snapped to Hollow Ichigo, Ichigo could actually feel his hollow side sneer at Fira's remark.

"_We'll see what happens, Aizen will keep attacking, I say let him send all his troops to die" _Hollow Ichigo grinded at the king's idea, Fira simply nodded at this knowing that in a war of attrition a Rayearth would always win, Zangetsu remained silent, but he knew that this was by far the best option.

"A war of attrition against hollows?" the foursome froze when they heard a very familiar voice behind them, turning around they spotted the last person they expected to see.

"Rukia?" Ichigo whispered, seeing the petit girl, clad in the school uniform, looking at him with a smirk, "Really Ichigo, of all the ideas you have, that is the worse" she stated, walking to the group, and looking at Ichigo.

"Play the part for the moment, we will talk during recess, okay?" she whispered, Ichigo was about to say no when he saw the rest of his classmates start pouring around Rukia, clearly surprised by her appereance just as Ichigo and company.

With a grunt Ichigo relented, but a look shot to Rukia basically told her that this was far from over.

_**During recess, school rooftop…**_

"Okay Rukia, speak your piece" Ichigo stated, leaning to a wall and crossing his arms, his eyes focused on Rukia, just like the ones of Chad, Uryuu and Orihime.

Rukia seemed to give it a thought about it, then shook her head and began, "Well…where to start" she muttered.

"Perhaps the reason you are here would help" Ishida stated, "Yeah, good idea, well, after the all fiasco in Seireitei and you basically raising hell, as a matter of saying, things started to cool down, sort to say, many shinigami found themselves rethinking a lot of things, especially the way they train, and how easy you beat them" Rukia said, "Most of them began to train hard, their reasoning was to beat you, but we all know that is futile, you are a Rayearth, a shinigami with spiritual powers unheard off, even more so considering you are alive to begin with" Rukia continued.

"Nevertheless this hasn't stopped many people of wanting to get stronger; the 11th division has been going nuts on training, Zaraki-taichou included" Rukia stated, "No surprise there, Kenpachi looks the type who enjoys pushing himself" Ichigo stated drily.

"But that's not all, your actions caused a whole political shakedown, the fact you are the soul prince and your mother is the soul queen made it worse so, the families don't know where to stand with, either with the legitimate royalty and the change they will bring or stick with the old traditions" Rukia added.

"So far we have seen hat old traditions ruling your lives to the fullest has led to" Ishida murmured, "Yes, nevertheless no one knows what to do, even the sotaichou is at odds with this, your family is untouchable, your friends are untouchable, so any kind of actions against them is mute, and pretty much suicide" Rukia remarked.

"But that didn't stopped him from cutting shinigami from entering Karakura Town, the four of us, my dad, my mom, Urahara and even the Vizards, people who are exiled and should by right do nothing, have helped in keeping the hollows in check" Ichigo remarked.

"That was because we lacked forces, your attack severely weakened us, he had to do this so he could focus on the real menace"

"Aizen" Ichigo stated with a hiss of his voice, "Correct, we just uncovered some startling facts about his plans" Rukia added as she walked to Ichigo.

"Have you ever wondered why Karakura Town is a hollow hotspot? Or why there are so many spiritual sensitive around this specific city?" Rukia asked, walking to Ichigo.

"No, is not normal, I mean cities filled to the brim with humans, is a buffet for hollows waiting just to happen" Ichigo remarked.

"Bullshit Ichigo, you know it" Rukia snapped, jabbing a finger at Ichigo's chest, raising a slight eyebrow at how hard his chest wa…

"_Dammit Rukia get a hold of yourself"_

Shaking her head, Rukia continued, "Karakura Town is a plot of enriched-spiritual land, something rare that happens once in a while in the human world, because of this humans develop spiritual awareness faster than on other places, this also means that hollows are attracted by the land, not the people, reason why the strongest hollows are found here" Rukia pointed out.

"Grand Fisher being an example" Ichigo growled.

"Correct, this fact makes the town a target for Aizen, not you or your family, the town is instrumental to the creation of an object called The Ōken, a key that can open a door directly to the royal family realm, beyond Soul Society and Hueco Mundo" Rukia muttered, then looked at Ichigo straight in the eyes.

"Worse still, to forge it he needs a 100,000 souls to forge it in a radius of half a spirit-mile, Ichigo, that covers all Karakura Town" the reaction was expected by Rukia, she could feel immediately how the temperature rose around, being a wielder of an ice zanpakutou made her more acute to change on the temperature, but she didn't expect the sudden rise nor the source being Ichigo, nor the fact his sclera had turned black and his irises red fire.

But as soon it had come it was gone, allowing her to breathe properly, he had unleashed some reiatsu alongside, and suffice to say it had freaked her out, she had felt-no, tasted hollow reiatsu alongside his shinigami energy.

"So that's why he needs that orb, the Hōgyoku is his hammer and anvil" Ishida mustered the courage to voice his thoughts, "obviously his plan remains unchanged regardless of the knowledge that the royal family resides on Karakura Town, he is focused on reaching the royal palace, killing the family during the forging of this key is only a boon to him" the Quincy added.

"One he won't complete when I get my hands on him" Ichigo hissed, "True, but as things are, you guys are the only thing that stands between that, hell I was send here because I'm familiar with Ichigo and with Karakura Town, that and because I was the only one they could spare, the sotaichou knows that if he starts sending troops to Karakura it will only weaken Soul Society as a whole, and truth to be told Karakura Town, while being the only place in the human world to forge the Ōken, is hardly the only place to make it in the realms" Rukia stated, making everyone blink.

"Come again?" Chad asked, "Kurotsuchi-Taichou theorized that there are other two places to make the Ōken, one is actually the Rukongai districts, let it be north, east, west or south it doesn't matter, just a chunk and the population in the densest spot and he'll have an Ōken, reason why the sotaichou is not sending troops besides me" Rukia stated.

"He is fortifying in case that happens" Ichigo stated, "Exactly, the other place is Hueco Mundo, but to that happen he'll have to gather as many powerful hollows as possible, in a zone we called 'The Menos Forest' a place filled to the brim with Menos class hollows" Rukia added.

"So, Aizen has the cards, we know what he wants, but we don't know when he will do it" Ichigo remarked, "Correct, I was send here as a liaison between you and Seireitei, I know you don't have love lost for them after what they tried with your sisters, and truth to be told I don't either, but the truth is that Aizen is the bigger menace, once he is done…we'll see how it goes I suppose" Rukia muttered, making Ichigo sigh.

"…Thanks for being honest midget" Ichigo stated, the Kuchiki heir simply smirked at that, "I'll let the midget comment slide, just this time" she added, that was the cue for the group to actually enjoy lunch, but before they could actually sit, Rukia told them something else she had forgot.

"Oh, one more thing Ichigo" Rukia began, her face growing even more serious than before, "Listen, rumors began to fly around about your rescue attempt on me, people, especially the noble families say that you actually knocked me up while I was here before my capture" that brought a blush on Ichigo's cheeks, and apparently to the rest as well, not as prominent as his but it was a blush nonetheless.

"Others say that you are actually the real heir of the Kuchiki family and my long lost half-brother, we can actually say that one is not true" Rukia said, "Of course, to begin with my sisters will we taller than you when they reach puberty" Ichigo mentioned, just earning himself a glare of Rukia.

"Others are more serious, they say that the Kuchiki clan was somehow able to enact a boon with a Rayearth, and has you on a leash, ready to let loose on Seireitei and any enemy of the clan if spoken of" that did brought a frown on Ichigo's face.

"Suffice to say my brother is not happy with this, neither the sotaichou, my brother knows you held me as a friend, but you're not friend by extend to the rest of the clan, sooner or later you're going to have to travel back to Seireitei and set things straight, or we could see a full blown war between families" Rukia stated, a frown on her face.

"How bad this could be?" Uryuu asked, vaguely wondering what a war between noble families could cause to Seireitei, "Very bad, with the lack of Central 46, the sotaichou and the heads of the house have taken to rule Soul Society as a war like regulation, it had helped since many laws that Central 46 gave originally were too arbitrary, but if a war between families were to break, so would the cohesion among the leaders when trying to help Soul Society" Rukia stated.

Ichigo just shook his head at this, it was too much to take, a possible civil war by his sole presence, and could be stopped by his presence, if he presented itself.

"What tells me this is not a trap" Ichigo suddenly said, looking at Rukia dead in the eyes, "Remember who caused all this, me, I assaulted Seireitei, I put them on shame, I nearly killed two of their strongest shinigami and exposed a traitor right on their noses, that left them as fools, I'm just a convenient way to direct their rage after such lost" Ichigo fought back, letting a sigh.

"Could be, it is said several nobles were present when you basically 'emerged out of hell' like they say" Rukia said, using imaginary quotes to describe the moment Ichigo had went bat-shit crazy after seeing his sisters as hostages.

"They fancied themselves to be strong, but you put them into shame, your mere presence froze them, and when they attacked you brushed them off like flies, maybe they want retaliation for this humiliation, after all they still don't know you are the soul prince, only captains know this, far better than the military knows this than the civies" Rukia muttered, "Regardless of any of this, the fact remains now, you are the strongest ally Seireitei has against Aizen and his army of hollows" she stated.

"I have to inform the sotaichou about your encounter with these three human hollows, maybe this will convince him to send some additional troops, at least to help you, you are a Rayearth, but you're just one now" with that Rukia walked away, giving an apologetic look to the trio of humans, "I'm sorry you all got dragged into this" Rukia stated finally to the trio, walked away of the roof.

Ichigo by his part stared at the spot Rukia had vacated, digesting all she had told him, realizing that now he was a player, once again in another battle, this one however was for the sake of his town, his friends, everyone.

"Things can't get easier…can't they?" Ichigo asked to no one in particular.

"_**Easy is boring ichigito, the hardest goals to achieve are the ones with the best reward"**_

The words of Fira didn't seemed to help him at all, after all the same could be said of Aizen, he was going against almost impossible odds, if he win, somehow, then his victory would be the sweetest.

Ichigo wouldn't allow that on the expense of his family.

* * *

"Hmm…he went through his Hierro, twice" the mind of the Octava Espada, Szayel Aporro Granz, began to work into overdrive, seeing the image that Ulquiorra had recollected during the brief fight between Yammi, Grimmjow and Ichigo, and he had to say, he was somewhat impressed by the level of power a human could achieve, he found himself intrigued also by Ichigo's swords, one had cleanly cut trough Yammi's Hierro, and his arm, without any kind of strength behind, while the zanpakutou was able to go through the Hierro once again, this time a considerable amount of energy and strength put behind the blow to decapitate the Decima Espada.

"Yeah, can't say Yammi didn't had it coming, but…" Coyote Starrk, The Primera Espada, basically the strongest, and the laziest of the Espada muttered, one eye simply glancing at the image of Ichigo, just after deflecting Ulquiorra's Cero, it was an achievement, Ulquiorra, of all Espada had a fast Cero, even faster than his, blocking his cero, even if Ulquiorra had stay his hand, meant that Ichigo was an enemy of care.

"It was a mistake attacking him" the silk like voice of Neillel Tu Odelschwanck cut through the reveries of the Espada assembled like a reiatsu laced blow, many wouldn't admit it, but this was a mistake, attacking a Rayearth so blatantly was like asking him to just waltz into their home and kill them all.

The Quinta Espada simply narrowed her eyes, once the Tercera, now demoted to the fifth for killing Nnoitra Gilga, of course in self-defense, the chauvinist former Espada had tried to show how strong he was, and he and his Fraccion had paid the price for messing with a superior opponent, of course she got off lightly, Aizen had told her to "Not do it again" and had demoted her to the former rank of Nnoitra, thus allowing one of her protégées, Tia Harribel, to become the Tercera, also there was the fact that among the Espada gathered, she had been the only one to even draw blood out of a Rayearth, but the fact the guy didn't even felt it meant she had basically failed on her little attack, that or the Rayearth knights lacked any nervous system related to pain.

"He is just a man, a human, he has several weaknesses we can exploit" Ulquiorra stated, perhaps he was the only Espada that could match Aizen in sheer intelligence, and that was hard, a keen intellect and sharp mind and eyes allowed him to break an opponent into tiny bits, seeing things others can't, stances, weakness, strengths, abilities, Ulquiorra just needed a glance and he could do just that with ease, also he could relay that information to other Espada, allowing others to learn what he learned, a skill many appreciated, albeit many could do without him gouging his own eye out and then crushing it into dust so he could relay that info.

"Be it as it may, he is an opponent of care, we must proceed with caution" Aizen stated, looking at the assembled Espada, the strongest Hollows transformed by the Hōgyoku into Hollow/shinigami hybrids.

"I say kill him, let me spear the assault, I already know how he fights" Grimmjow snarled, knowing full well that his little scuffle with Ichigo was far from over.

"I will not allow it, we already lost an Espada, and replacing Fraccions is far easier than replacing Espada" Aizen snapped softly, but his tone was final, and basically told Grimmjow that no matter if he used his resurreccion, he would end up dead like Yammi at the hands of Ichigo.

To the panther king, this was unacceptable, a blow to his pride, to be told that someone stronger than him existed and he couldn't fight him, let alone prove if the man was strong as claimed.

The moment Grimmjow stood up in rage was the moment a monumental amount of reiatsu crashed over him, making him kneel and gasp for air, the look Aizen was giving Grimmjow was all but pleasant.

"You will obey, or you will be destroyed and replaced, am I understood Grimmjow?" Aizen boomed, the Arrancar gasped for air, and tried to lift his head, Aizen saw this and lowered his spiritual pressure enough so Grimmjow could speak and face him.

"Yes…Aizen-sama" Grimmjow gasped, "Good" was all the leader of the Espada said as he released the panther king of his sudden attack.

"Now, as for the matter at hand, Luppi Antenor will take Yammi's place" no one dared to talk back Aizen after his decision, after all Luppi is weak compared to the rest of the Espada, hell Yammi held the androgynous Espada on a lower regard than his fraccions, and that said much about the guy.

"Ehm, Aizen-sama?"

"Yes, Zommari?"

"Uh, how we are going to deal with this Rayearth?"

"Zommari" Aizen began, "No, no, no, I understand that we are not to attack him now or something like that" the dark skinned Espada assured, all to evade the ire of the man who would lead hollows to glory, "Is just that…I think"

"You think? That's rich"

"Szayel" Tousen hissed, "Well, in any case, we have to face him if we want to win, after all he is the biggest obstacle of them all, not Soul Society or the Shinigami but the being that can burn Hueco Mundo with a flick of his wrist" Zommari said, earning him a set of surprised looks, Aizen by his parts looked pleased.

"I am well aware of this Zommari, and I thank you for opening this conversation even further" the dark skinned Espada beamed with pride after being praised by Aizen, while the brash members of the Espada thought one thing.

"_Ass-kisser"_

"You see, while this Rayearth cannot be taken by force alone, and illusions seem to hold dim to none power over him, I developed a way to stop him enough for a Espada to face him on, after all most of his powers are focused on his flames and his Rayearth blade, and while I assume he trained his shinigami powers, they are not on-par to those of a captain" Aizen began.

Snapping his fingers, a figure began to advance out of the shadows, "The Hōgyoku is truly a marvelous tool, it didn't only created you and the Vizards, but it has also helped me create the means to stop Ichigo the inferno" he said as he looked at Tousen side, the dark skinned shinigami slightly smiling at the being at his side, a pure being.

"My dear Espada, here is my answer to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Ichigo Kurosaki" Aizen said, "A new member, Wonderweiss Margela" he said, then pulling something else, a small black needle, and for once the Espada and Gin actually wondered if Aizen was secretly a Yandere, because the smile he showed was…scary.

* * *

Ichigo didn't knew how to feel about Rukia following back home, on one hand he didn't mind, Rukia at one point had lived with him back when he was helping her keep the hollows at bay when she tried to recover some of her power, only to realize she was in fact losing more by the day.

On the other hand he did mind, after all she was inviting herself to him home, and he didn't knew how his family would react to her presence, and also to the news that besides him, his father, his mother and sisters, she was the only shinigami sent to help in the defense of Karakura Town.

Maybe Aizen had made much more than betray them, Rukia seemed edgy to tell him something until she met with his mom and dad.

His worries seemed unjustified when he and Rukia returned home, Masaki and Isshin welcomed Rukia with open arms, especially Isshin that proclaimed Rukia as his third daughter and soon to be daughter-in-law, Isshin would have to pry his head off the ceiling when Ichigo uppercut him for that comment.

Karin and Yuzu were at first apprehensive of the shinigami, Karin because she is brash and trust little people who attacks her family, and Yuzu because of what she lived in Seireitei.

After that it was basically the same routine of everyday, dinner with the family, followed by doing the homework left to them, and then sleeping, albeit with a slight change, one Rukia presented during dinner.

"Oh Ichigo, I forgot something" Rukia began, reaching for one of her school uniform pockets, then pulling out what seemed a pentagonal badge with a skull on the middle, right on top of an 'X'

"Ukitake-Taichou gave this to me right before I left, is a seal of approval that grants you official benefits as any other shinigami, simple terms, Karakura Town is your territory, and while you're required to slay hollows as usual, you don't need to fill paperwork or report to a superior" she said, "I kinda envy you in that regard, paperwork has become such a hassle these days" she added.

"The badge also can separate your soul of your body and also the badge can detect hollows since I can see you still suck at feeling reiatsu" Ichigo frowned at that, of course she would jab at one of his natural weakness as a shinigami, his inability to sense beyond his massive reiatsu, true he could sense people and hollows now, but using his Rayearth inherited abilities, hollows felt…like a strange mixture of ice that perturbed everything around it with its presence alone.

"This could be useful" Ichigo said, taking the badge and instantly pocketing it, he would have enough time to examine it; he never noticed how Masaki and Isshin exchanged troubled glances with each other.

Once Ichigo and Rukia finished dinner, they instantly rose on their feet, "I'm going to my room mom, need to check some things with the midget" Rukia glared at Ichigo for that comment.

"I am not small"

"Karin and Yuzu will be of your height when they reach my age, face it you are vertically challenged"

"Why you…" any arguing the two would have ended when Isshin asked THE question, "Rukia-chan, were you will sleep?"

"Oh, the same place I slept before…I hope you didn't put trash in the closet" Rukia stated, walking onto the second floor, "It's my damn closet I can put anything I want there!"

Apparently satisfied by her answer, the remaining Kurosaki household went back to eating, until a second later her message actually sank in their minds.

"The closet!"

_**That night…**_

Rukia glanced at the small, yet comfortable area that was her territory, Ichigo's closet, despite initial misgivings, thanks to Renji, was neither smelly nor housed some sort of supernatural entity, besides herself, it all dated back in the days she was in the academy, and she still believed Renji's stories, she was unable to stare at her own closet for over a week until she grew tired and blew it open with a kido spell, and then shifted her aim to Renji.

In any case this same closet had become her home back when she had lost her powers, oddly enough she felt more comfortable in the small closet that in the spacious room she had in the manor, a perk of being a Kuchiki, you do things big and with grace, pity she couldn't decorate the closet with Chappy the Bunny posters, Ichigo had clearly put his foot down on that matter.

Glancing at the room, she kinda smirked at the little, yet immense changes that had happened in it, for instance the bird perch that was placed near her closet, obviously this was for Fira whenever she felt like stretching her wings and was tired of staying in Ichigo's head, the other change as of course the white bed sheet with a blue cross that was on his bed, she clearly remembers that a red one had been before, she smirked at that, Ichigo seemed to not care or not know that he was basically sleeping over the symbol of the Quincy, that or he didn't noted that somehow Ishida had changed his bed sheet with another one that was more fitting to one of a Quincy bedroom rather than a one of a shinigami/Rayearth.

Besides that she could see Kon, the mod-soul that had taken residence in that particular plushy, while many find a chibi lion cute, she doesn't, especially when so said plushy tried to cope a feel on her already underdeveloped chest, while she is flattered that she can attract someone with her bust, it also makes her awfully sad that it only works on a already perverted mod-soul.

As for so said mod-soul, the moment Rukia entered the room, it basically went nuts, screaming and laughing all the way, screaming that her 'Nee-sama' had returned to him, then promptly tried to glomp her, it only earned him a vicious uppercut of Rukia that the greatest boxer of all times would had envied by its speed and grace.

In any case she felt like in home, and that same feeling of comfort and security made her feel bad considering what she had given to Ichigo.

The badge, if she was told correctly, was not an insignia and certification of his status as a deputy Shinigami, they didn't even existed, if they did then their jobs would be immensely easy, a deputy for city, yet that wasn't meant to be, no one knew why, maybe the process was too much for a normal human, that or the power behind it.

The badge however served a purpose to the very few deputy shinigami that existed in the world, which could be counted with just one hand.

The badge was to control, to monitor the deputy shinigami, their power, to examine them, it was determined long ago by some force that wasn't tied to the soul king, yet it was strong enough to leave the badges and how to use them, they all looked old, very old.

The sotaichou didn't knew when the badges came to be, and he was the oldest shinigami around, there were no written records about the badges, they were just there, older than anything around Seireitei, and with instructions of how to use.

Of course the sotaichou saw the badge as the means to actually monitor Ichigo's growth, if he couldn't get Ichigo to actually join them, which was improbable after all that had happened, then they would monitor him from the least expected place, his badge, everyone expected Rukia to be the monitor of Ichigo's, no one however would expect that the badge to be the real monitor, it was genius, to an extent, after all Isshin and Masaki, being royalty and one of them being a captain before had clearance to several things, everyone expected that at any given moment they would say to Ichigo the true function of the badge, and then Ichigo, on a fit of rage to destroy it.

"You're okay Rukia?" Ichigo asked from behind her, the Kuchiki girl simply nodded, "Just Kon being Kon"

"How cruel nee-sama!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he stepped into the mod-soul, dragging it to the ground with his feet and then tossing Kon under the bed, "Don't mind him, at least he is punctual and wakes you up, far better than dad trying to kick you awake" Ichigo commented.

"He still tries that?" she asked with a small smile, she would never imagine the heir to the crown to be this childish, then again most shinigami had special quirks.

Going to her closet, a bundle of clothes in hand, Rukia turned to Ichigo, "By the way" she said, looking at the man that had turned her life, and in effect the life of every person in Soul Society upside-down, "Thanks…for saving me…and everything else" she said as she entered the closet and closed the door to change her clothes.

Ichigo rose an eyebrow at that, then shook his head, "You're welcome Rukia" was all he said as he pulled the badge out of his pocket, staring at it intensely.

"_Are you certain of this Fira?"_

"_**Absolutely, this little thing seems to be a monitor of some sorts, interesting artifact, it resembles your Rayearth glove in the ability to separate your soul of your body, and like Rukia's own glove, not only that, it can advice you or nearby hollows" **_Fira mentioned with some sort of appreciation for the badge.

"_**I find odd of course that they gave it to you so freely, this must be a very precious artifact"**_

"I know why" Ichigo muttered to himself, not loud enough to make Rukia come out of her closet, just something to assure himself.

They were testing him, to see where his loyalties lied, because regardless of what had happened so far, he was still a shinigami, he was still the soul prince, he was still tied to Soul Society and its people, he didn't want that, but there he was, with ties he didn't even knew he had.

He could crush the badge with ease, and whatever control they might enact on him with it…

Instead he just placed the badge on his nightstand, giving it a long look.

"_**You could destroy it with just a finger" **_Fira spoke, oddly serious for someone as outspoken as her.

"_I could, but I chose not to" _was Ichigo's simple reply, _"That's what makes me different of them, I can choose what I want to do" _was all he said as he walked to his bed, Fira simply smirked to that remark, it was so true, she pitied the shinigami, because for all their power and potential, they were bounded and were unable to choose, free will was overlooked, that was until you actually lose it.

Tossing the badge to his nightstand, Ichigo finally flopped to his bed, hands behind his head, and let a small smirk play on his lips.

"_Besides, this means that the old man is still too apprehensive of me, and wants to make sure I won't finish the job" _Ichigo found a strange sense of satisfaction of knowing that the captain-commander was too afraid of him.

He later related that feeling to the one of self-fulfillment, and increase on his ego.

* * *

Orihime had recurring dreams, sometimes nightmares; it was not odd after what had happened with her brother, Soul Society and the wraiths.

She dreamt that the wraiths attacked her friends, that Ichigo was unable to do nothing and everyone was slain, by that point she was already awake, knowing that Ichigo wouldn't be killed by the wraiths, if something she learned of her ordeal on the other world was that Ichigo was perhaps the strongest shinigami around, if not the strongest being on this world.

After learning of the existence of Crystalia and the existence of the other Rayearth knights, Orihime was granted the answer to the question many asked themselves, they were not alone in the universe, true the others were humans, or close to, but still…

Suddenly her room was engulfed in light, she immediately tensed up, her hairpins instantly reacting to her and the fairies contained in them appearing at her side, the light blinded them for just a second, then it condensate on what seemed a circular portal of some sort, it seemed somewhat unstable by the way it changed forms Orihime noted.

Then a humanoid formed out of the portal, one that finally materialized into the one of a man, or what seemed a man Orihime noted, who stumbled out of the portal, this one closing and taking out the source of light in the dark room, besides the moon outside.

As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, one of her fairies decided that this amount of darkness, coupled with the unknown man lying on the floor was not a good idea, so it decided to turn it on, it regretted it later.

Once the light was on, they could clearly see who had stumbled out of the portal, it was a male, by his physique, clad I the same armor that the guy Faeron had during his appearance in Seireitei, Orihime noted, but she also noted that some plates of the armor were missing, or blown out, also she noted he was pouring…purple blood.

Then she noted his face, and she froze, the man's head, for the lack of better wording, was the one of a spider, with eight round and actually glowing eyes, its mouth was exactly the one of a spider, fangs included, and out of the mouth purple…blood was coming out, slowly but coming out.

Then the spider man stood up, Orihime dared to think he was taller than Chad, and equally bulky, when he stood up she noted that the chest plate was basically blown out, exposing a series of plates that were surely the spider man's exoskeleton.

Then the spider man did something she didn't expected, he actually kneeled in front of her, like greeting royalty.

"Maiden of fairies" It gasped out; Orihime noted the pain laced with every word; surely the wounds were more than she expected.

"Please…I beg of you…take me to the Rayearth of fire…I have…urgent news for him"

_**Kurosaki Household, fifteen minutes later…**_

Waking up after sleep had finally taken her was not exactly a nice thing, especially for Masaki; there are those who say that a good night sleep can put a smile even on the grouchiest person, equally if you are denied that sleep you can expect hell to happen.

In case of Masaki Kurosaki, mother of the current Rayearth of fire, you could expect even a worse hell to happen, even more so considering that she has her own zanpakutou, one she is carrying and ready to use against the dimwit that dared to wake her up.

As the knocking got even worse, Masaki growled even more so, this was a side not even her son and daughters had seen, mostly because they have common sense and they also wake up grouchy in the same conditions Masaki was now, now everyone knew why Ichigo tended to be a little more brutal with the hollows at midnight.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Masaki yelled, moving a little too fast just to get this over it.

Then she opened the door, and got the shock of her life.

There in front of her was Inoune, as usual whatever Inoune wore, no matter how baggy, seemed to cling in such a way that it was indecent, and would make men look at her, now her pajamas was pink, with a stamp of cutie little chibi…aliens it seemed.

What shocked her was the being behind Orihime, humanoid, with the face of a…did the guy had a spider for head?

The spider man actually advanced, showing to Masaki the extend of the damage on his plated armor, and kneeled in front of her.

"Highness of the spirits, guide me to the Rayearth of fire, I have urgent news" he declared, she could hear the exhaustion on his voice, the pain, but also relief for something, surely by finding her son.

Masaki weighted her options, on one hand she could kill the spider guy, she clearly remembers what the other two had done, they were responsible for Aizen's escape altogether, their mere presence had tipped the balance on Aizen's favor only because no one expected them, not even her son.

"If you're here to harm my son…" she let the threat hang in the air, surprisingly the spider man stood up, something akin to…outrage on his face.

"Harm? Betray? I am honor bound to the fire knights and our liege, I would never hurt him!" he declared hotly, outraged by that declaration.

"Kurosaki-san, should we carry this…inside?" Orihime suggested, Masaki mentally thanked the girl for her intervention, she was sure her talking to a stranger with a head that looked like a spider wouldn't do good enough for the already strange reputation of the Kurosaki family, with the eccentric dad, delinquent looking son with tomboy little sister and the small fragile looking other little sister, all running a clinic, it was a wonder social services haven't come, or that they had patients willing to come to the clinic.

As the trio entered, she noted that Ichigo was already up, clad in his shinigami grabs, surely he had to wake up and take a night hollow down, those surely put a damper on his mood, near him was Rukia, also clad in her own shinigami grabs, ready to go upstairs when they saw Masaki, Orihime and the spider man.

What happened next surely amused Rukia to no end.

The spider man's face somehow lit up with excitement and amazement, he covered the distance between him and Ichigo in less than a second, and then kneeled.

"My liege, I have finally found you, I was worried about your welfare"

Ichigo blinked owlish, Rukia did the same, and in fact both Masaki and Inoune did the same, not knowing how to react to the sudden action of the spider man.

"Oh, I am sorry my liege, I lack proper manners, I haven't introduced myself" the spider man said, standing up, "I am Arat Nat Hut, of the providence of Terratos" there the newly introduced Arat seemed to hesitated, then seemed to gain some edge, and spoke again.

"I am, as far as I know, the last loyal member of the fire knights" Arat summarized, everyone noted the sad tone he took, "My brothers and sisters…all now corrupted, blinded to the truth" Arat hissed, looking at Ichigo, seeing the way Ichigo looked at him, Arat walked to one of the chairs and sat.

"I guess, I should explain myself" Arat suggested.

"You think?" Rukia asked.

"Sarcasm aside little one" Rukia bristled at that remark, "I owe you that much, to explain the actions of…my fallen comrades" No one said nothing, knowing that Arat was referring to both Faeron and Eurania.

"I assume they died…you did them a favor" Arat began, "In them we saw the first signs of the corruption…but we were too proud, too careless…we paid the price" Arat added.

"What do you mean by that?" Masaki asked.

"They were the best, what every knight of the order should aim to be, strong, fast, cunning, ambitious, but one should measure how much he wants, and how much is willing to pay for it" Arat mentioned.

"It began slowly, like a cancer, benign, small, but it grew, without treatment, no one knew what was going on, not even the elves, and they are all but masters of the arcane arts, the Utta didn't knew either, MagiTeck is their forte, not the arcane arts, this…was old, older than some elves, older than the rayearths, it began slowly, but it didn't stop" Arat said, bringing his hand over his chest.

"When we did realize, it was late, 90% of our the fire knights were corrupted, the rest had to lay low, but when the pillars resonated, oh when they did, we had to act, the knights had been selected, we had to protect them" there Arat reach for his chest, obviously in pain, Orihime immediately reacted, but he just rose his hand to stop her.

"You have done more than enough, I told you already, I am the dead walking, I can only inform and die with the knowledge passed to my liege" Arat's statement surprised the present, Orihime looked downright sad, about to break on tears.

"Do not cry for me, I will reunite with my ancestors on the endless fields, and walk eternally on peace" Arat said, "As I was saying before, when the knights were elected, we knew we had to act, sadly so did our enemies" Arat added.

"As far as I know, the court of wind is unaffected, something about elf physiology preventing it, I envy the knight of wind, an army of females under his command, and some people have all the luck in the universe" Arat chuckles ended when he began to cough then groaned.

"The water monks…they live in seclusion, monasteries on the edge of mountains and the seas, so I doubt the corruption has hit them, but I know that our enemies are actively seeking them" Arat continued, "And for the fire knights, you have seen it by yourself, willing to attack our own leader, we swore to serve the rayearths above the queen, in times of peace the queen might tell us what to do, nothing else, we decide if we want to hear her, but when a knight is selected, we are to follow his or her orders, it has been this way since the end of the Great War" Arat said.

"I come bearing grim news my liege, beyond the fall of the fire knights, there seems to be another…problem if you want to be technical, an unknown army has been attacking several towns on the edges of Terras territory, survivors claim that the attackers wear ragged cloaks and chipped curved swords…wraiths" Arat said, seeing how Orihime stiffened, her eyes narrowed.

"It is a sign of bad omens; the return of the wraiths is just a prelude, Crystalia is facing an era of unrest, the queen is really hated by the people, feared to be the word I seek, her older daughter is haughty, proud, arrogant, her youngest was exiled, and if rumors are to believe, she leads the rebellion of the Grey Houses of the continent of Pi'ta" Arat ragged, everyone noted how he began to take deep breaths, struggling for words.

"The army is broken, they have numbers, but not a clear leader, and the…generals are petty and…fat" Arat gasped, "The people don't know what to do, they are afraid, change is accepted, but things are happening too fast, and too much blood is being spilled, the oracles have secluded themselves on the edges of gold mountain, entire cities are on lockdown, Terras itself is holding a bulk of a million soldiers" Ichigo blinked at that, it was…a large number.

"Our world needs the knights, it needs a new queen, and Queen Tania the fifth is…unbalanced, her decisions are…leading us to disaster, if we don't act now…I dread what might happen" Arat said, now gasping and actually leaning on the chair, his eight eyes focused on the ceiling.

"I can only assume that the dark lord will return, and when he does" Arat said, reaching for something on his pocket, "You, as a knight, must be prepared to face him" he said, slamming his hand on the table, then removing it, showing what seemed a ring, a silver ring.

"Do not…be deceived, that…ring, is in fact a key…when the time is right, it…will reveal something…it's nature…I do not know, the oracle…was vague" Arat said, reaching again for something in his pocket, then pulling out a crystal pyramid of some sort.

"My time has come…yet I won't spend it here my liege, I will die, as every living being in his universe, but I choose were to…to my home fields, the forests surrounding it…it's trees as thick and tall…the smell of juniper berries…it is a good place to let go" Arat added as the small pyramid on his hand began to crack.

"Be…well my liege…may your foes fall upon your blade…my ancestors beckon…for me" with that the pyramid broke, and he suddenly vanished, sparks and thunderbolts enveloping for a single second before vanishing for good, leaving an empty chair.

Ichigo by his part just looked at the spot Arat was, he had just come to relay him a message, to give him something of an edge, to prepare him for what might come ahead, with his last breath, he had done a lot, he wouldn't be fooled.

Reaching for the ring, Ichigo looked at the people around, all looking shocked by this, Orihime looked really frustrated and angry to herself, it seemed that her powers to negate had finally met something that couldn't be negated at all.

* * *

"Ah…home"

When he was born, the elder of the village who had been present on his birth had said he wouldn't partake on something important, that he would be one of the averages, on an average era, working on an average job.

Now he was sure, now that he was going to join the ancients, he was so going to rub the fact that he was born on the era of the knights, that he was part of the fire knights, and that for one, fleeting minute, he had done an important task, and had walked among giants, on the face of such elder once he sees her on the endless fields.

Arat felt the life fade of him slowly as he leaned on the back of a massive tree, the sun rays warming him.

The curse of the bonded, a spell that required the caster to bond his or her life with his or her target, making it impossible to break unless the caster is killed, this bound, which the maiden of fairies was unable to break, only stall, a truly incredible act, considering that the curse cannot be stopped by nothing, not even the strongest arch-mages could do so.

The curse leeched his life, then gave it to the caster, enhancing his own mortality, one could say that is an immortality spell, as your very life is taken and added to another person own life, doubling it, or tripling it if the caster had used it before, so that was why the fairy maiden was unable to heal him properly, flesh wounds closed on her touch, but the chains that leeched him could not be broken.

She was distraught, but alas this was meant to be, her power was great, no doubt, comparable to the power of a Rayearth, yet hers, like every power of every mortal being, had limits.

Sitting near the tree, his back on the tree, he could gaze at his town, his bellowed town, far beyond the problems of the upcoming war, yes, war, he didn't diluted himself with illusions that the arrival of the rayearths would prevent or outright stop any action death on its tracks, no, things would get worse, far worse.

But for now he could pass on with the knowledge that while war would come, he had armed one of the knights with the proper knowledge of what was happening, of what to expect, because in this war, just like the Great War, there would not be shades of grey, there would be black and white, good and evil.

Oh he could see it, the knights, advancing in the ancient ashen fields of war, just like their predecessors, and army behind them, a united army, against the dark army, just like in times pass…

He also saw allies alongside the knights, standing proud and ready to face death with them, he saw twice red, he saw black, and he saw a giant of purple that roared as the two armies advanced, ready to decide the fate of Crystalia once and for all.

"Ancestors…I come to you" he gasped one last time, as life left him at last.

One little girl, of his same species passed near him, instantly recognizing his armor as one of the fire knights, she didn't got close to him, mistaking his death state to sleeping, she simply walked near him, and placed a small flower she had picked near the fields, and placed it on one of his opened hands, then left.

This was as much as Arat, later know as Arat the speaker, would get as a respected burial before his remains were found months later by the very man he came to warn and was granted the burial of a hero he rightly deserved.

* * *

"Are you certain this…Arat was a crystalian?"

"_Positive Sotaichou, he was clad in the same armor the other male had, but damaged, he appeared to be in great pain, Orihime's powers didn't helped a lot, just eased the pain long enough for he to relay a message to Ichigo"_

"Good work Kuchiki-san, yet I am disturbed that you took two days to tell me this"

"_Because I told her so"_

Yamamoto had to bit the sharp retort he had planned for this when he heard Ichigo's voice, many questions got answered the moment Ichigo spoke.

"_I told her so because we need to plan an attack on Aizen, now"_

"_So this is his plan…take the offensive to Aizen, not let him dictate the course of this war"_ Yamamoto thought, a slight bitterly of course, he had wanted to take on Aizen also, do it immediately, but the Shinigami forces on Seireitei hadn't recovered fast enough to allow this, even with a Rayearth knight on their side they needed to be cautious with Aizen, he had, after all put the wool on their eyes for over a hundred years, even more, he was crafty, he was smart, he would surely be prepared for an all out assault of Seireitei, with the captains and the Rayearth spear-heading the assault to Hueco Mundo.

Also there was the issue of the terrain, Hueco Mundo, for all intents and purposes, is a massive ocean of a desert, filled to the brim with hollows of all sizes, forms and power, he had made once the mistake of sending a sizable force down to Hueco Mundo, at least a millennium ago, the best shinigami he could hand-pick, fifty of them, all ready and willing to chip a hole on the hollow force back in that time.

None of them returned, if what he thought was perhaps correct, Ichigo might be suggesting a massive offensive, sending every single able shinigami with him to Hueco Mundo, take the war to Aizen's turf, problem was of course, no one knew where Aizen truly was in Hueco Mundo.

"_Listen, I don't trust you, to be honest I want to beat the shit out of you again, but right now my family and town comes first"_

At least he was being honest; Yamamoto could respect an honest person, depending on the truth.

"_And I'm sure you hate me with all you being, but right now we have a bigger fish to fry, so here's my plan"_

Yamamoto immediately perked up upon hearing the beginning of Ichigo's plan.

"_I go to Hueco Mundo, carrying a small surprise of Urahara made himself to carry this, I make it out to Aizen's fortress, lay hell whenever I find it, go to the center, plant the surprise in the center, and you and the captains do the rest, after all is easier to pull out a tired fish that a healthy one"_

Yamamoto blinked, he thought Ichigo would try to convince him to fight Aizen on their terms, on his land, not fight Aizen on their terms, on their ground, it was brilliant, it was crazy, it was something Aizen Sosuke would not see coming.

"…How much time to start this plan?" Yamamoto asked, seeing the utter brilliance of this plan, Shinigami usually didn't engage on this kind of conflict, on this kind of scale, but this time, they would make the exception.

"_A week, Urahara is working on a gate for me to enter Hueco Mundo, and perhaps a day after that while I made it to Aizen's place and tear it down, Urahara even had the coordinates ready"_

"Good, I'll have a force ready for this" Yamamoto never found himself agreeing with a Rayearth, he had his pride, his zanpakutou had its pride as well, being defeated so soundly had hurt that pride, that could easily be repaired by beating the rayearths knights, especially the new wind knight.

But what Aizen had done, it went beyond pride, it was a downright insult, at least the Rayearth knight had the delicacy to fight him with all he got, but being manipulated like some sort of toy was beyond insulting, he would enjoy destroying Aizen and making him see how his plan crumbled apart.

"_Good…make sure you keep your shinigami on the leash, Shinji and company will help as well"_ with that Ichigo ended the call, Yamamoto simply narrowed his eyes, the kid was crossing too many lines, but against this…Arrancar, hollows with shinigami powers, they needed all the help they could get, the fact that the Vizard, the complete opposite of the Arrancar would face them was not lost to him, right now any kind of edge was needed to stop Aizen before he caused a catastrophe only comparable to the one the Quincy nearly did during the war.

Truth to be told he wasn't too thrilled with the idea of a joint operation between Seireitei with the Rayearth and his allies, but both sides, while not liking each other at all, or were too indifferent to the other in the case of some members, had one common enemy, and that united them to face him and take him down.

He would have all the time in the world to see what to do about the Rayearth friends, and not to mention the new Rayearth knights, princess included.

He had made a promise, the knights would die, and all of them would die by his hand, regardless of the consequences.

For the moment however, Aizen and his ambition had to be stopped.

_**A week later…**_

"This is all I could dig up Ichigo…the rest is up to you" Urahara mentioned, handing Ichigo a cell phone and stepping away.

Admiring his work, Kisuke wondered how things would play out now, Ichigo was basically going to fly solo up to Hueco Mundo, on a, many consider, suicidal charge against Aizen and whatever army he had with him, Kisuke didn't had much hopes of Ichigo actually making it there undetected, the moment he touches the sand of Hueco Mundo, every hollow will know he is there, and will either fight or flee, depending how evolved in both power and brain are, he knew the higher Hollow ranks would ignore Ichigo, and he would ignore them, but the lesser hollows would try to attack and eat Ichigo, his dense spiritual power would grant them immediate evolution, or jump two stages of such evolution.

Standing on the training fields right under his shop, with two massive pillars made of white rock, both pillars being the only artificial way to open a garganta up to Hueco Mundo, after all there was no way normal means would suffice to reach Hueco Mundo.

"It's enough Urahara, thanks" Ichigo mentioned, pocketing the cell phone on his robes.

"Are you absolutely certain you want to do this? You will be on your own there" Urahara stated, "I would take Kuchiki offer and let her come with you, it would be more beneficial for both of you"

"No, I'm going to lay hell there, I can't focus on her, besides she said she was going to keep a watch on my friends" Ichigo said.

"Ah yes, your class is on a field trip, highly convenient, your whole class, which is slowly developing spiritual awareness, it won't be long before they can see your spiritual form, and some of them to develop powers of their own"

"Don't remind me" Ichigo groaned, slightly palming his forehead, that topic was something Yoruichi hadn't let him live down, he, just like Fira had said, with his mere presence had started to change his class, all of them, his teacher included would be able to see spirits, hollows and shinigami included, but just a handful would develop powers like Chad and Orihime, which was a blessing indeed, Karakura Town was already overcrowded with humans developing powers of their own, besides he was damn sure he would have to explain them why he was the only one with a big ass sword, and the hollows, oh he was not so looking forward into explaining that.

"You will have to confront this with the sotaichou, he won't be pleased" Urahara reminded, slowly walking to the pillars.

"I don't care if he is happy, my town takes priority over anything he thinks" Ichigo snarled, "Besides pissing him off makes my day" Ichigo added, Urahara just fanned himself, mentally smirking, Ichigo had really progressed from the moment he gained his powers, up to this point.

"…Kisuke-san" Ichigo began, catching Urahara's attention, so far Ichigo had never called him like that, never, it was always the usual 'Geta-boshi' or 'Urahara-san' never by his first name, this had to be serious.

"Listen…if I don't…make it, if I don't return, keep a watch on my family…all of them" Ichigo said, more of a plea than a question or a command.

"I will, Kurosaki-san" Urahara said, handing Ichigo the last item, the one Ichigo needed the most, a small pink cube, it was small enough to fit in Ichigo's hand, even if closed.

"I have been working on a temporal shield that could negate negacion if this was summoned, with some small modifications I was able to convert it into a teleportation device, keyed to the sole location found only on Soul Society outskirts" Urahara said happily and he handed the cube to Ichigo, then out of the blue turned serious, deadly serious.

"you have to place the cube on the floor inside the fortress Ichigo, if you see you can't do that, that a frontal assault would be too much, even for our amassed force and your preemptive assault, just push reiatsu into the cube until it shows one single crack, then toss it down, and run like hell, it will kill everything around, you included, Rayearth or not" Urahara added, closing Ichigo's hand with the cube with it.

"A lot relies on your success, regardless of what you do" Urahara said, slightly turning his gaze to the gate.

"The gate will take you to the heaviest shinigami reiatsu detectable, it won't drop you on top of Aizen, but it will be very close, so be very careful" Urahara said, stepping away and making his way to the pillars, then placing his hands on the pillars, spiritual energy leaking on his hands and being leeched by the crystal pillars.

"Whenever the fates deem ready, knight of Crystalia"

This was the first time Urahara ever referred to him as a knight of Crystalia, which was odd to Ichigo, but not to Fira herself.

Usually this phrase was used in ancient times, back during the first Great War, long before the guns and space-ships, when the words were refined; it was first used during the final battle, oddly enough by the dark lord itself, in his confrontation with the Rayearth of wind, while using the body of the Rayearth of water, but was then twisted by an officer at least five millenniums later during the old one wars, his original words had enough profanities that in the end, the very dirty speech became that particular phrase.

As the pillars slowly began to tear the time-space veil separating the living realm of Hueco Mundo, Ichigo stared impassively at it, knowing full well what awaited him beyond the tear, an army waited for him, no, for anyone fool enough to try to attack them.

He didn't care of course, he would tear them all apart just to get to Aizen, he had to weaken them, to make sure Seireitei forces could pick them up after the teleportation.

With a big intake of breath, Ichigo saw how the tear was fully opened, and he dived into the unknown, again, this time, alone.

* * *

**_and it's a wrap, for now, as i said, short for my standards, considering that most of my stories have the odd tendency of getting longer and longer with each passing chapter, just could the number of letters in the chornicles of maverick from chapter to chapter, including author notes and you'll see, freaky eh?_**

**_right now i will take some time, i just got my wisdom tooth removed, two of them in fact, so anyone who has beheld this procedure knows the mind-numbing pain that follows after anesthetics wear down, and then i have to wait for the other two, so yes, i will be not be updating too soon._**

**_till a next time, hypn0s signs off, have a good day my friends and readers, be well._**


	14. 13: death god's gonna cut you down

_**Hello my readers, it is I! Hypn0s, giving you the last chapters of Ichigo the Inferno.**_

_**for over a year and a half, I have been working on this story, my longest story to date, and officially finished, this chapter in particular came as an inspiration during a stressing weekend, it hit me, hard, before I had envisioned a big ass fight where Ichigo owns everyone, then I thought, nah, its already done, so i tried somehting else, this is the result.**_

_**Fair warning, this chapter has badass Ichigo, badass Rukia, lots of blood, gore, and perhaps my greatest WTF moment ever made, you're not going to believe how the hell I came with this one.**_

_**so sit back, read and enjoy the last chapter and the next chapter, the epilogue.**_

_**read along.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 13: DEATH GOD'S GONNA CUT YOU DOWN**

Opening tears on the veil that separated the living world with the dead world was something only shinigami and hollows had mastered, one because of curiosity, the other out of necessity, hollows needed periodically to venture to the living world to feed, either from living human flesh or wandering souls of whatever was around, let it be human or animal, thus why most hollows had different humanoid/animal mixed bodies, it was the amount of souls consumed in them that allowed them that strange individuality from one another.

Hueco Mundo of course was a vast dimension of its own, as big as the very realm of the dead in the universe, but cut from most of it, it's only visible entrances and exits were Ichigo's own world and Crystalia, reason why the shinigami were outnumbered 1000 to 1, they had to deal with the combined hollows of their own world and Crystalia own, who never ventured beyond Hueco Mundo.

These hollows were smarter than the rest of hollows, even more than a fully evolved Vasto Lorde, the so far last know evolution of a hollow, crystalian hollows tend to avoid and be avoided, they are 'born' strong and intelligent, a deadly combination, this intelligence allow them to use their power with a level head, usually Adjuchas class hollows tend to die by the dozens when a crystalian hollow decides to cut loose, only stupid or desperate hollows tend to attack 'em.

So it was quite a surprise when every crystalian hollow went into overdrive and a frenzy of trying to get the hell out of Hueco Mundo when a tear in the sky was seen and an all too familiar presence to them was felt.

The regular hollows of all kind immediately perked up at this presence, the lesser hollows immediately turned tail and ran as fast as their legs, or for some, wings could carry them, Gillians didn't do much, mainly because half of them were forever stuck in that state, and their minds were a mess to begin with, only when Adjuchas herders began to guide them they actually moved, the other half, the one that had a chance of passing to the next stage simply went onward, this was the chance to advance, as for the Vasto Lorde, they didn't care, they looked at this with curiosity, really wanting to know what might have caused such stirring in Hueco Mundo.

As the tear closed, and whatever had come out of the tear landed, it seemed like the sand of Hueco Mundo was flattened up to the point of compression to glass, many hollows wanting to take a free snack of the newcomer simply froze or were crushed, and those crushed being the ones moving under the sand.

This was Ichigo wanted, when unleashing your reiatsu, it was like showing off, to spirit sensitive feeling something big meant being frozen on the spot, either by awe or utter fear.

But one thing is showing off your power, other is enforcing your presence.

Yamamoto knew it, Unohana knew it, and now Ichigo knew it, and thanks to his status as human/shinigami/hollow/Rayearth, he was able to do something simply unthinkable, willing the hollows to stand down or be decimated by just stepping into their home.

As he advanced, he noted that the tear he had come from had not closed, turning around he was surprised when a familiar presence made itself know out of the tear, it was not as overwhelming as his, but he recognized it easily.

"…Rukia?" Ichigo said, clearly surprised when he saw the petit shinigami land near him, a scowl on her face.

"You have some nerve Ichigo" Rukia began, advancing towards him and suddenly jabbing a finger to his chest.

"You think you can just waltz into Hueco Mundo, all alone on a suicide mission against Aizen and his army, hoping to place a displacer right in the middle of a warzone, all alone, leaving your family and friends worried sick!" she snapped, this time punching his chest, it was not hard, it was more like a finger jab, to make a point, to get his attention.

"You think I'm going to leave you go on this alone?" she asked, Ichigo bit the sarcastic answer back, he knew Rukia wouldn't, just like he was unable to leave her to her so called fate.

"You are my responsibility" Rukia began, earning herself an outraged look of Ichigo, "Had I had killed that hollow as usual, you wouldn't be here" she added; "Besides" she suddenly went to his side, looking him up.

"How I would be able to look myself in the mirror if I knew the man who saved me…twice already was marching to war, all on his own, without back-up or some sort of support, and actually win" she said with a smirk, one that turned serious in a second.

"We started this together Ichigo, I think is fitting we end it together, don't you think the same?" she asked, her hand on Sode No Shirayuki grip.

Ichigo simply shook his head; he was just two seconds from screaming at her, but just stopped, then reached for Zangetsu, Ignis materializing on his other hand, then looked at the horizon, seeing just sand, dark sky, and even beyond he saw something white, a cube of some sort, pocking out.

"There" Ichigo said, "You see it?" he pointed at the horizon with Zangetsu, "There is where we have to go"

"Two shinigami against the unknown, it seems something out of Ukitake-taichou stories" Rukia pointed out, getting ready to dash.

"Your captain writes stories?" Ichigo asked, somewhat intrigued by that.

"Oh yeah, he always post stories in the shinigami post, they are quite popular" Rukia added with a smirk.

"…Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you dare to die on me you heard?"

"Likewise midget"

Then without any word left to say, both shinigami flickered away, only to reappear at least five kilometers away of their landing zone, and dashing at a great speed.

"I have been training with nii-sama while you were back on your home, I am as ready as I can be against anything Aizen might have!" Rukia exclaimed.

"Your brother…I still want to run Zangetsu up to his heart" Ichigo retorted.

"I can't blame you for that, he did some hasty promises, it nearly cost him a lot, he is not bad Ichigo, he is just…too protective of his family, ever since sister died and I enlisted to become a shinigami, coupled with his role as clan head and captain, well you can't blame him"

Even if Rukia was vouching for her brother, Ichigo couldn't forgive him for what he had done, for what he nearly did, hell to be honest Byakuya was just one of the many shinigami he wanted to kill for the stun back in Seireitei with his sisters.

Before he could say anything else both saw it and felt it, it was unmistakable for Rukia who found the feeling overwhelming, she had dealt with hollows of all sizes and numbers, but not of this sheer number, she could not distinguish who was the strongest or the weakest.

Ichigo found the conglomeration…amusing.

"Looks like the welcoming committee" Ichigo said with some amusement.

"I'm glad an army can put a smile on your face" Rukia said with sarcasm, Ichigo simply rolled his eyes.

"Seems to me that is not Aizen's army" he added, seeing the rampant number of hollows approaching them.

"Still" Rukia said with a small smile, "Slaying and purifying this amount of hollows is not only guaranteed to bring a lot of souls to Soul Society, but to balance, I have heard some startling rumors" Rukia said with a frown.

"Then…let's start with it!" Ichigo shouted, Rukia was, of course unprepared when his hollow mask materialized on his face and his already impressive spiritual energy doubled to exponential levels, and began to speed before her, taking the lead in no time and leaving her to the dust.

"_He surely has grown ever since I have seen him…but I will not be left behind again, I haven't trained this much to be left behind again!"_

Rukia could feel Sode no Shirayuki acknowledge his, after all most of Ichigo powers branched of their own, they could do a lot more, Ichigo was a living testament of the level Rukia would reach if she tapped her potential to the fullest.

If Rukia was unprepared for Ichigo's sudden spike of power, so were the hollows, especially the Gillians, being beings with too much minds and souls in one sole body hindered them, in combat they could be terrible opponents to face, but when taking decisions they were the worse.

So it was not a surprise to Rukia when three Gillians who were vanguards of the mob were now lacking their heads when they couldn't make up their mind to either cero Ichigo or run like hell, this cost them as they fragmented into spiritual particles and vanished of Hueco Mundo.

That was the cue for every Gillian and Adjuchas hollow to attack Ichigo; anyone looking at the scene would think that it was a replay of the time Uryuu and Ichigo fought back to back in Karakura park when Uryuu broke that hollow bait, in fact it was a replay of that particular battle.

Rukia side stepped at the lunge of a snake hollow, bringing her zanpakutou down and decapitating the beast with one swift move, not wasting any second she took her zanpakutou with both hands, ramming it upwards, just above the head of a hollow that tried to blindside her, then bringing it down, alongside with the head of the beast, pulling her zanpakutou down she jumped out of the maws of a hollow that tried to bite her legs, only to miss half of his head from its jaw down thanks to Rukia Zanpakutou.

"Sankaho!" she screamed, letting out a red ball of pure spiritual energy at the nearby hollow, basically shoving the red ball of destruction up to its mouth and causing it's torso to blow up, alongside with the rest of the thing.

As she slew three low level hollows, she risked a glance at Ichigo, when she saw him she simply chuckled and continued to kill her marks.

Ichigo by his part dared to do the one plan he had thought long ago when dealing with Gillians, cutting them to human height.

It was an interesting thing to see a shinigami with two swords chop a Gillian, a hollow of at least fifteen stories high, up to the height of a normal person, of course this was fruitless because the Gillians Ichigo kept chopping ended up turning into spiritual particles when they reached the three-floor stature, meaning the limit of their 'bodies' to their 'necks'

With the Adjuchas it was another matter entirely, this were the next phase of hollow evolution, meaning these were smarter than a Gillian, but the reiatsu Ichigo was letting out, both shinigami and hollow basically had them on a frenzy, they wanted to feed, feed on Ichigo, a single bite on Ichigo will make them grow to the next stage of hollow evolution.

So they were leaving huge opening on their guards, openings the petit shinigami was using and abusing at her heart's content, true she was using Ichigo to gain the upper hand, but against creatures that were just steps away of turning into Vasto Lordes, all was fair play.

The battle lasted over ten minutes, ten minutes in which the smarter hollows decided that it was better flee while the shinigami were too occupied with the other hollows and live another day, by the time Ichigo and Rukia were done, there was just splashes of hollow blood all around them, some even on them, maybe hollows dissipated when slain, but their blood is another matter.

Without giving a second glance at the carnage they caused, Ichigo and Rukia sped up once again towards the structure that poked the horizon, all while lesser hollows steered clear of their way, less they want to be slaying and purified.

"You improved" Ichigo said, keeping the speed they had before, the fortress looked far, really far, but they were cutting some terrain now.

"I trained all I could after I recovered; Nii-sama drove me harder than ever in the training, not to mention Ukitake-Taichou, they wanted me to be on par with you at least, I mean you are being trained by legends of their own" Rukia stated.

Ichigo simply pursed his lips, true Yoruichi and Urahara were more that they seemed, behind the lazy look of Urahara and the flirtatious one of Yoruichi, hid two really powerful shinigami, not to mention his dad and mom, those two really stepped up on his training so much that well…he had such a nice surprise for Aizen.

As the duo kept their speed and began to cut distance between them and their target, both felt, but not voiced it out loud, that this was the last time they would see each other for some time.

* * *

"…Looks like Kurosaki-san has arrived"

No one wanted to admit it, but they had been waiting this moment with eagerness, the ultimate test of their powers was not against Aizen, or Gin or Tousen, no, it was against a Rayearth, a living one, one that not even the Tercera was able to kill when he was still low on his powers, now with a month to hone his skills, this was to be their ultimate adversary, and enemy that simply refused to bow.

Grimmjow, being one of the few Espada who had directly confronted Ichigo was beyond excited, the knight deifying a kingdom, the knight fighting the king, this was simply…classic brutally beauty.

"I'm going out now!" Grimmjow exclaimed loudly, a grin nearly ripping his face in two.

"No" was all Aizen said, standing up, "You alone won't have a chance against him, besides it is inevitable that he will come through, regardless of the defense put against him" Aizen summarized.

"I can take him all by myself!" Grimmjow snarled, clearly offended by Aizen's deduction.

"Don't think you're all powerful, that is a mistake, one Yammi paid in full" Nell snapped crisply.

"Enough" Aizen said, it was soft, but at the same time the undertone of 'shut the hell up' was there, no one dared to talk after Aizen says enough.

"I already send the exequias and the remaining hollows, with the exception of the Numeros and your fraccions against Ichigo; they will serve their original purpose"

The gathered Espada there knew what Aizen, only the strongest joined the Espada and gained a number, fraccions were hand-picked by the Espada to serve under them and Numeros where former Espada deposed by the new ones, they were valuable to Aizen.

The others weren't.

* * *

There it was, the wall of Las Noches, not that they knew the name of Aizen's fortress anyway, the only thing they cared was to make their way inside.

To Rukia it had felt like two days since she and Ichigo began their long walk towards the fortress, no hollow had attacked them, surely by Ichigo's unnatural presence scaring them away, and they hand stopped to rest, she can attribute her sudden rise of stamina to the training she underwent with her brother and several shinigami of the 11th division, Ichigo had been battling non-stop when he stormed Seireitei to rescue her and despite nearly crippling blows he was still standing and as strong as he was before.

If she wanted to help him she had to make sure to keep up the pace he imposed, which was a task of its own, at least she had some nice toys that the 12th R&D division had given her, surely half of them rigged to transmit data of what was happening now.

Speeding up, at last they reached the white wall of Las Noches, the massive wall was easily the biggest Rukia had seen in her life, including the wall that surrounded Seireitei.

"Okay, any idea how to get in?" Ichigo asked, looking around for some sort of door nearby, finding none.

"R&D gave me some toys for this mission, is not much since their labs were blown sky-high" Rukia said, eyeing Ichigo, "You might not know who did it, didn't you?" Ichigo shook his head.

"I just know that you guys have scientists" Ichigo confessed, making Rukia sigh, Ichigo might be the spirit prince, but that didn't meant he was no longer the same Ichigo.

"Well, they thought this might happen, and they gave me some things to help me level the field, especially with you as my partner" Rukia said, digging through the pockets inside her clothes, then pulling out what seemed a mate-black square shaped piece of paper.

With a sigh he stamped the paper on the wall, then motioned Ichigo to take several steps back with her, "Freshly delivered from R&D labs, let me give you the reitou shino bakudan, the frozen paper bomb" Rukia presented, unsheathing her zanpakutou, "Watch and learn Ichigo, we get the nice toys" she gloated, "According to the R&R guys this thing is able to bring the biggest of walls with ease, we just have to stick one to a wall, and then ignite it, hence you being the trigger" Rukia explained.

"How big the explosion will be?" Ichigo asked, Rukia noted that his left hand now held a small fireball, it surprised her how advanced Ichigo had come regarding his powers, to her it was just yesterday when Ichigo had emerged out of a column of reiatsu, slicing the arm of that hollow with an oversized zanpakutou and with ease.

"I think you got how it will work, send that fireball to the paper, it will unleash all the stored energy within, creating a controlled, but powerful implosion towards the wall, shattering it, according to the R&R guys, it has enough power to shatter the atoms that compose the wall itself" Rukia said, Ichigo noted how tense she looked.

"You're tense" he stated as an afterthought.

"…No…I'm excited…do it" Rukia said, a grin slowly slipping on her face, Ichigo looked at her oddly, then shook his head, not even the shinigami knew it, but their race, including those who joined had that eagerness to fight, no matter how layback they acted, how lazy they were, shinigami yearned for combat, he noted it on his sisters, he noted it on his mother, on his father, on every shinigami he knew, the only exceptions being the vizards, himself included due to their hybrid nature, the lust of battle was not as visible as the one of a pure blooded shinigami, it was there, but it didn't manifest so strongly as in shinigami.

They were meant to fight, fight, fight, in a way Kenpachi was right, without hollows to fight in this world, shinigami were nigh useless, only to guide the souls of the departed, eventually the balance would be broken with the immense amount of energy on one side, ironically, hollows existed as the counter-balance for that, shinigami existed to purify hollows, their essence didn't immediately went to Soul Society, instead it was fragmented down to their original components, the former souls that composed the hollow, and slowly made their way back there, until they 'died' thus reincarnating, and the cycle would repeat itself again and again and again.

He was looking forward to spend his afterlife on the other massive holding of souls, taking his family alongside, this was not the kind of life he wanted for his sisters, or his possible children.

With a sigh, he lobed the fireball to the paper, the result was as Rukia predicted, the first thing that happened was that the paper, upon explosion caused a section of the massive wall to freeze instantly, a thin wall of ice formed, at least as big as the door of a garage, then the ice cracked, imploding inward, taking the wall alongside, shards of sharp ice tearing a neat made hole with ease.

Ichigo winced when he saw several humanoid hollows there, being shredded by the sharp ice, their screams being drowned as they vanished in spiritual particles.

"Let's do this!" Rukia screamed, rushing inside the hole, instantly lashing at the nearest Arrancar that remained alive and decapitating him with ease, Ichigo simply sighed dramatically and followed suit, cutting two more hollows with Ignis and Zangetsu in the same fashion as Rukia.

He had assumed that Aizen would send an army to stop them.

He was correct, an army was waiting for them, and army of disposable meat shields and speed stoppers.

It didn't mattered; the so called winter war would end today, one way or another.

Rushing with Rukia, he let himself go loose, just like he did when he fought Ururu, when he fought Kenpachi and Yamamoto, he got wild.

He threw his head upwards, his mask forming on his face, his hollow wanted to fight as well, who was he to deny him that, Zangetsu was going to fight, his hollows was going to fight, Fira was going to fight, everyone was happy.

With a roar he launched himself at the closest hollow, he noted how similar the hollows was dressed to a Espada, beyond that the differences ended, some were twice taller than him, some were wider, bulkier, males and females, but one fact remained, they all had humanoid shapes.

He swung Zangetsu at the nearest Arrancar, easily decapitating the cat like Arrancar, side-stepping out of a slash and then retaliating with Ignis, bisecting two Arrancars from the waist up, the three Arrancars he killed banishing in a cloud of spiritual particles, just like every hollow that was killed with a zanpakutou or in this case a Rayearth blade.

Rising his leg he launched an Arrancar out of his feet up into the air, hard, then swung Zangetsu hard to the Arrancars in front of him, the Arrancars rose their own swords to act as some sort of shield, but did little to stop the sudden energy like blade that emanated out of Ichigo's zanpakutou, easily decimating the Arrancars and everything behind them for over 50 meters long in front of him.

With a roar Ichigo turned to his left, opening his masked mouth and letting out a long tongue of flame, like a flamethrower the attack burned first the feet of the Arrancars, making them fall in pain, this left them open for Rukia to simply swing her zanpakutou and decapitate them while on the ground, without mercy.

The Arrancars kept throwing themselves at the duo, but they kept dying in horrible ways, kido spells fired point-blank, duo of Arrancars cut down at the same time, impaled, dismembered, Rukia and Ichigo didn't care, they were on a frenzy, Sode and Zangetsu were really focused, just like their wielders, they were cutting that dared to even approach them, Hollow Ichigo was having a blast, so much blood, gore and violence, at the order of day, and he had the beast seats on the house, better yet, he was actually helping, the king wasn't hindering him, instead he was allowing him to fight, to let loose, how could he say no to that generous offer of his king?

It seemed like hours after the 'battle' ended, by the end only Ichigo and Rukia remained, back to back, slightly panting, covered head to toe in hollow blood, and so were the ground and their zanpakutous.

"**Glad that** was over" Ichigo said, his hollow mask vanishing, revealing his spotless face, only his eyelids spotted blood from hollows, Rukia on the other hand just sputtered blood, reaching with her hand and trying to remove the blood from her hair, so far no success.

"How are you holding Rukia?" Ichigo asked, seeing his midget of a parent struggling with the blood on her.

"I got hollow blood on my face, on my hair, on my hands, on my robes, on Sode No Shirayuki, on my sandals…I dare say I even have hollow blood in my underwear…god this is disgusting" Rukia gagged, cleaning Sode No Shirayuki with a small portion of clean robes she had on.

"You'll shower in my home, I doubt there is something more efficient that warm water in Seireitei" Ichigo stated.

"Well yes, I DO have a bathtub to myself in my room in the mansion, but I rarely use it" Rukia said, "But after today" She mussed, looking at Ichigo, noting how the shinigami/Rayearth looked to his right, slightly narrowing his eyes.

"Ichigo?" she asked.

"Don't look back, we are being followed" he said, Rukia heeded his warning and didn't looked back, and with Ichigo at her side it was nigh impossible to try feel something, let alone someone, his presence simply drowned her feelings unless something more powerful than Ichigo manifested itself.

"Friend of foe? And how can you feel anything with your uncontrolled reiatsu anyway?" Rukia asked.

"I don't know if its friend or foe, I don't feel bloodlust of it, but it definitely hate us"

"But not enough to attack us" Rukia summarized, seeing how Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah, as for how I can feel is or her presence, well it's a Rayearth thing I guess, something all Rayearth share, my guess, the Rayearth of wind can feel someone when the wind shifts around, the water Rayearth can feel anything within water range, including rain, and the earth Rayearth, well I guess simply standing means she can feel you, me? I guess I feel anything alive, their souls, their life force, is like a flame, unique, in families it shares some similarities, but is unique"

Rukia nodded at this, digesting this information with eagerness, surely the guys in R&D as well, she didn't have illusions nothing they gave her was rigged to expose her current conversation with Ichigo and monitor his level of power.

In truth she would be disappointed if they didn't.

"Can you feel anyone else?" he nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"Several life signatures that feel similar to the Arrancar that attacked me in the construction site, ten of them obviously more powerful that the one I killed there, or the ones here, surely captain-level, but they seemed like holding, also I feel several Arrancar presences, lieutenant to unseated level reiatsu…I also feel alongside three shinigami signatures something else…something powerful, definitely condensed and wanting to be used…also I feel…I don't know, something is there, but at the same time is not…I don't get it, is like if it exists but at the same time it does not"

Rukia at this point didn't knew what to think, as a sensor on the field Ichigo easily surpassed anyone, but since his reiatsu basically drowned her senses and broadcasted their location to anyone like a human world neon sign, she couldn't corroborate if what he was telling was in fact true.

There was only one way to find out.

"The presence you felt…the one following us…it resembles anything you have ever felt before?" Rukia asked, it was a valid question, so far Ichigo had more interaction with several beings during his life, hollow, shinigami, Quincy, if he can actually feel and individualize that familiar signature, it can give him a great advantage over sneaking opponents trying to get the jump on him.

Ichigo closed his eyes for a whole second, then opened them again, a troubled expression on his face, "Yeah, it just left, but I could get a good sample of its energy, Quincy" was all he said, worrying Rukia.

The way he said it meant that Ishida hadn't followed him into another suicidal charge against another enemy, but rather a Quincy had been around Hueco Mundo for who knows how long, which meant that Ishida and his father weren't the only quincies around, which was both good and bad, in a sense.

It brought a lot of questions, questions that would have to wait until they had dealt with Aizen, he was the main menace, he had to be dealt with swiftly before he became more of a problem.

If anyone had been there, they would have seen them blur out of sight, moving onwards towards Aizen castle, Las Noches.

* * *

"Shhiiiittt" Grimmjow swore with a chuckle, his blood was pumping; he was more than ready to face the Rayearth and the shinigami that was with him.

The hollows slew in battle didn't faze him a little, it just helped him realize the massive gap that natural Arrancar and Hōgyoku Arrancar had in power, all those Arrancar the Rayearth and his companion had killed were natural Arrancars, who had ripped their mask off during their Adjuchas state, Vasto Lorde Arrancars, natural born were rare because there is no hollow stupid enough to tangle with a Lorde.

At his side Nell looked ill of the stomach, and he couldn't blame her, the average shinigami would be a stain on the ground against such numbers, those two had cut the entire force like nothing, indicating a high level of skill and power, well skill for the shinigami, pure raw power for the Rayearth.

Combine those two and you have a pretty much guarantee slaughter, and this was what Grimmjow lived for, the battle, the thrill, the dominance of the field, he is the goddamn panther king, and as a king, he has to assert dominance.

"So, Nell, want to go and say hello to our visitors?" Grimmjow said with a grin, Nell simply narrowed her eyes at the panther king, but said nothing, after all this was that Aizen had tasked them to, to stall or stop the Rayearth knight and anyone with him, well not exactly the last part, but one can't be picky when Aizen relay orders.

"Very well, as long we keep our fraccions out of the battle, they will get slaughtered" Grimmjow simply snorted at her concern, he didn't care much, if his fraccions were weak enough to not survive an encounter with those two, then they were not fit to face the lower echelons of the shinigami.

Hueco Mundo was fit only to the strongest, and he was among those.

With a snarl he jumped out of the ledge right above of the entrance to Las Noches, Nell simply sighed, following Grimmjow reckless action.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia were close enough of the central structure, according to Ichigo the place where several high-level presence could be felt, when they saw two figures suddenly jump from an alcove at least twenty stories above the only visible entrance, then landing swiftly on the sand.

Immediately Rukia and Ichigo began to slow down, their full own sprint becoming more like a jog.

"Rukia" Ichigo began seeing the two Arrancar in between them and their objective.

"You deal with the woman, I will deal with Grimmjow" Ichigo said.

"Are you sure, even at first glance I can see she is strong" Rukia said, yet Ichigo didn't detect any kind of hesitation from her.

"She is strong true, but you got stronger ever since" Ichigo admitted, "I hope you have something more substantial than kido, or you won't beat her"

"Have some faith Ichigo" Rukia began, "I might not be able to fire Ceros, breathe fire or carve the land with a swing of my zanpakutou, but not all is power, you have to have skill, and I have plenty of it"

"Arrogant aren't you?"

"Just stating a fact" Rukia said.

Ichigo simply grinded, eyeing at the two Arrancars in front of them.

"Don't let her breathe, keep attacking, no chance or releasing her zanpakutou, release yours now and let's charge" Ichigo said.

This tactic was against everything she was taught to do, a frontal assault against a superior foe, suicide, releasing her zanpakutou before battle, utter madness, keep attacking until your enemy is dead, only the 11th endorse this tactic.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

It was perfect.

A perfect lair of mist emerged out of Rukia as her zanpakutou was released, it was the first time she ever released her zanpakutou without the normal steps she took, basically just shouting the command phrase, this was kinda forced, and caused her to waste energy, but the side-effect, a thick mist, was needed to allow her and Ichigo to launch the first attack.

Which they did simultaneously, both Arrancars tensed up upon seeing the dual charge and were ill prepared to the sudden blow, not expecting the female shinigami to release her zanpakutou, or such bold charge.

Grimmjow and Nell had little time to raise their own zanpakutous as Ichigo and Rukia brought their own to face them off, the impeding impact caused Nell to be slammed to a wall all while holding out Rukia, while Grimmjow was pushed down to a wall, breaking such wall away as Ichigo advanced towards the fallen Espada.

"Remember Rukia, if you attack you strike your enemy down, that is the key, resolve!" Ichigo snapped, flash-stepping to the hole he had made with Grimmjow as the unwilling hammer.

"If he really expects your victory over me he is sorely mistaken" Nell said, easily pushing Rukia away, so said shinigami landed smoothly on the sand.

"Victory? Nah, he and I both know you are on a league of your own, but guess what, so is he, you can defeat me, but I'll make your victory so damn hard that when Ichigo gets you he will only have to breathe and you will _burn"_ Rukia hissed, suddenly flickering away, Nell narrowed her eyes, raising her zanpakutou to her left, blocking the blow Rukia aimed to her unprotected flank.

"You are sorely mistaken if you think I am a mere berserker like Grimmjow or those bellow my rank"

Rukia simply smirked, suddenly flickering just like before, Nell sighed as she blocked the frontal slash, then her eyes widened when she saw a hand in front of her, crackling with spiritual energy.

"Sankaho" Rukia whispered, letting out the red ball of destruction point-blank at Nell.

**BOOM**

The explosion pushed Rukia and Nell away, the female Arrancar sporting some a spilt lip, all while Rukia had the edge of her left cuff of her robes burned by the close proximity of the explosion, all while her left hand looked raw red.

"…I see…you ARE aiming for the kill on the get-go" Nell declared.

"This is war Arrancar, there is no time for formalities, its do or die" Rukia declared, bringing her zanpakutou in front of her, then suddenly stabbing the ground in front of her.

"Juhaku!" Nell eyes widened again as a fine trail of ice suddenly emanated from the very zanpakutou, freezing the sand in front of her, and heading towards her at an alarming rate.

Out of instinct Nell jumped away, seeing how the ice trail hit the wall, and such wall began to freeze, the trail going upwards, and not stopping at all, Nell noted that it surely reached the top of Las Noches.

Still in air she turned to face Rukia, seeing her how the shinigami removed her zanpakutou out of the frozen sand, then Nell blinked.

She can swear she just saw some sort of ethereal outline behind Rukia, with green eyes, glaring straight at her.

That moment of distraction was costly as she lost track of Rukia for a sole second, "Some no Mai, Tsukishiro!"

Nell felt cold on her back, then saw bidets of blood on her vision.

* * *

"Shit" Grimmjow swore loudly as he slowly recovered, dusting himself off slightly, then glaring at the slowly approaching Rayearth, both blades grinding the concrete floor and leaving a neat gash on the ground.

"This time there will not be another Espada saving your ass Grimmjow" Ichigo declared, stopping just meters of Grimmjow.

The sexta snarled loudly at that, launching himself at Ichigo, the shinigami/Rayearth simply blocked with Ignis, then reared his head back, and then up front.

Grimmjow felt his entire body seize up after such unnatural head butt, he felt his bones basically rattle with the blow, not to mention his back, which met once again the walls and the floor.

Snarling again, Grimmjow rolled up hastily, just in time to move away of a slash that would have split him in two had it met him, instead it split the ground in two.

Standing up, the panther king fired a hasty made cero at Ichigo, just for the orange-haired Vizard to deflect it with Zangetsu, sending the red beam up to the ceiling.

"Bastard!" Grimmjow snarled, launching himself at Ichigo, bringing his blade down, hard, Ichigo blocked the blow with both his blades, then punted Grimmjow away, sending the Espada to a wall, but this wasn't enough, instead it irked the Espada more, flickering away.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, flash-stepping also, meeting Grimmjow in mid-air, Zangetsu grinding against Grimmjow's own, setting sparks away, then both began to flicker away all while slamming blades, to the untrained eye it would be just sparks flying randomly in the air.

But to the trained eyes it was different, while Ichigo was letting Grimmjow set the pace of the battle, a true no-no for combatants, it was Ichigo who was holding the upper hand, when it came to deal with the sexta Espada, pure raw strength was more than enough to deal with such enemy.

Landing on the ground, Grimmjow roared, launching himself towards Ichigo, the Vizard simply side-stepped then rammed his feet to Grimmjow's unprotected stomach, again.

"Dammit!" Grimmjow roared, glaring daggers at Ichigo who simply stared at the Espada with a bored expression.

With a roar Grimmjow brought his sword to him, his left hand like scratching the blade which began to glow blue, Ichigo eyes widened, feeling the amount of reiatsu that was suddenly poured out.

Without thinking it twice Ichigo dashed at Grimmjow…

"Grind"

Ichigo was close enough of Grimmjow to swing an decapitate him when a blade blocked his own, glaring at the owner of the blade, Ichigo swore that after Grimmjow, Ulquiorra would follow.

"PANTERA!"

Ichigo grunted as a wave of pure reiatsu hit him, yet it affected him little, what shocked him was what emerged after that blast.

It was Grimmjow alright, but more feral, his body was covered in some sort of white segmented armor, while his stomach still retained his hollow hole, both his forearms and calves were flanked by two vicious blades, while his hands and feet were black, looking almost feline in appereance, his hair had grown long, almost to his waist, there he noted a slender, long tail moving lazily, Grimmjow's face was also altered, he looked more feral, more predatory, and his hollow mask remnants were replaced by some sort of crown of some sort on his forehead.

"…So…this is their version of Bankai" Ichigo mussed, comparing the former Grimmjow to the current one, the difference of power was vast, he smiled, he did well in telling Rukia to deal with her opponent without mercy and letting her no time to do nothing but dodge.

"You better prepare yourself Kurosaki, I will kill you!" Grimmjow snarled, launching himself at Ichigo.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, giving just one glance to Ulquiorra, now this was a two on one fight, and Ulquiorra was obviously more powerful than Grimmjow, even in that state.

Grunting Ichigo rose Zangetsu, blocking the claw of Grimmjow, noting how sharp the claw was, then started to block with both blades when Grimmjow began to press him, his speed enhanced by the release of his true form.

Soon the battle began to escalate as Ichigo and Grimmjow began to jump wall to wall, all while colliding blade against claws, Ichigo hissed every time a claw met his skin, leaving small bloody lines on his arms and back.

Then he actually seethed in rage when he felt a clean slash on his back, with a grunt he punched Grimmjow in the face, sending the transformed Espada to a wall, pushing to a hall filled with pillars, making his way there, then landing there, blocking another blade with Ignis and immediately head butting the owner of that blade.

Ulquiorra staggered, slightly stunned by that attack, honestly he didn't expected _that _from a Rayearth, but considering this was now a two on one fight…

"But this ends now" Ulquiorra suddenly declared, eyes focused on the destruction that the fight between Ichigo and an released Grimmjow was causing, he could feel the telltales of hollow reiatsu on Ichigo, which was not good at all.

Sonido-ing away, Ulquiorra landed behind Ichigo who had just slashed Grimmjow in the chest, leaving a deep gash, upon feeling Ulquiorra behind him, Ichigo turned fast, and slashed with Ignis, cutting, much to Ulquiorra's shock, his left arm up to the elbow with ease, yet Ichigo aimed wrong.

Ulquiorra suddenly slammed his right palm on Ichigo's forehead, there Ichigo stopped altogether, eyes wide, his eyes seemed to glaze as he slumped forward, but remained perfectly still, standing, holding both Zangetsu and Ignis, in his forehead some sort of oval shaped jewel that slowly pulsed each second.

Grimmjow took his time to take deep breaths, he didn't want to admit it, but this battle would have ended with him dead if Ulquiorra hadn't intervened and had given him time to use his resurrecion, he would be dead, simple as that, Ichigo had pressed him on, gave him no room of breathing.

Now it was payback time.

With a wide smirk, Grimmjow approached Ichigo, raising his arm to strike Ichigo down…

"Grimmjow no!" but the warning came too late, Grimmjow reflexes were the only thing that saved him, yet it did little in the end, Grimmjow growled in pain, his left arm, flying away as his right hand clutched the bloody stump that Ichigo's zanpakutou had made.

"The hell!" Grimmjow snarled, huffing as blood poured out of his wounds.

"…It seems that even if his mind and soul is detached of the body, his body still retains the will to fight, and actually kill without hesitation" Ulquiorra observed, his eyes focused on Ichigo, narrowing slightly, observing every twitch, every muscle movement…

There Ichigo dropped both Zangetsu and Ignis, and his fist met Ulquiorra's face, sending the Espada flying away, crashing onto several pillars headfirst.

Grimmjow looked at the flying Ulquiorra, then at the somewhat zombified Ichigo, he growled, baring his remaining arm, "I knew that thing would be trouble" he hissed, then launched himself to Ichigo, black reiatsu covering the body of the mentally detached Rayearth.

* * *

Ichigo exhaled loudly, eyes darting around in the middle of…nowhere to be honest, he was in the pitch black void, he could see his hands, his body, but beyond that nothing.

"Hello?" Ichigo called, "Old man? Hollow? Fira?"

Nothing, his voice didn't even echoed, it was startling.

"Anyone? What's going on!" he yelled, he reached for his zanpakutou, but there was nothing there, he then looked to his left hand, finally noting the lack of his Rayearth glove.

He clearly remembers that even in his inner world, he would always carry his Rayearth glove, he could not remove it, only Fira could, it was a symbol of his position as a knight, no one could remove it, they could chop his hand and burn the skin, but the glove would be still attached to the bones of his hand.

His eyes were narrowed at this, it was impossible that Aizen had found a way to remove the glove, he might be a death god with some sort of artifact that could create shinigami/hollow hybrids, and vice versa, but he really doubted he was able to create something to bypass Fira as a whole.

_It's just a trick, break it!_

Ichigo looked around, the somewhat childish voice hit him full force, reminding him that the last moment before his blackout was Ulquiorra's hitting him on the forehead, feeling something cold on his forehead which most definitely was not skin and then blackness, and then this.

_Aren't you supposed to be the strong one of us!_

This time it was a different voice, slightly more mature than the first, both were obviously male, children if he wagered, he was surely older than them.

_Come on, you have to regain yourself!_

Now this time he recognized the voice, it was the same voice of the girl who had punted Yamamoto away, the princess.

_Come on, this is not the end, don't let it win!_

The female voice mentioned, there Ichigo blinked, the female voice was referring to something inside him, and 'it' a…

"The thing" the very thing Ulquiorra had slammed in his forehead, whatever it was had send him here, 'it' seemed to have a will of its own.

Looking around he spotted 'it'

'It' was not the leech; 'it' was not the nemesis.

'It' was 'him'

A very skinny, creepy looking 'him'

'Him' to be exact was skinny, the mid-section was like a segmented looking spaghetti, with turfs of orange hair acting as elbows, connected to a pair of skeletical looking arms, the lower part was simply covered with what seemed to be shinigami robes, without sandals, the skin was black, a contrast to Hollow Ichigo's own skin, the head was the oddest thing, it was obvious Ichigo's own head, if he had lost several pounds, let his hair grow long, never washed it and combed it at all, covered by a single skull like mask in white.

A mask that had no visible eyes beyond the skeletal eye sockets.

'Him' stayed there, looking at Ichigo like an odd thing, tilting 'his' head to one side, like curious, then it screamed.

* * *

"Ugghh" her ears were ringing, her vision was blurry, and there was little she could see well, or hear well.

Soon she was able to stop the ringing of her ears, and was able to see something more than blurry images.

What she first saw was black marble of a floor; she could feel something dragging her on the marble floor, her ears caught up on two similar footsteps, and the feel of something holding her arms.

"_Dammit, I lost" _Rukia berated herself, the battle had been according to her plan, keep pressing and eventually go for the kill when Nell dropped her guard, the thing was that was her instead of Nell who dropped her guard, the female Arrancar, to be honest couldn't blame her, the sudden appearance of that reiatsu that simply oozed power made both combatants stop on their tracks, but on Rukia it had a different effect, after all she recognized the reiatsu as Ichigo's, which left her guard open for a couple seconds longer than Nell's.

Meaning that the next thing she knows is that Nell had slashed her on the chest, then punched her hard enough to knock her out, but not outright kill her.

Now, if she was correct, was a prisoner, dragged by two Arrancars, underlings of the Espada if their small reiatsu was of any indication.

"Do you have any idea what Aizen-sama wants with this shinigami?"

"Not a clue, not that I'm willing to ask, remember the last one that questioned Aizen-sama methods?"

"Ugh, that wall will always remain red"

Rukia paid that no mind, the only thing that stung in her mind was that Aizen wanted her for something in particular, _"Surely to make Ichigo relent on his assault" _she thought with a smirk, brute force would do little to stop Ichigo; she knew that, Aizen knew that, so he would play against Ichigo's soft side, his friends.

Of course this was a double-edge sword, last time someone tried that Ichigo had went bat-shit mad, and had tore shit up, he had been unstoppable, Aizen is strong, but not stupid he would not try that unless he has some way to stop Ichigo dead on his tracks.

"Here she is Aizen-sama" suddenly Rukia was tossed to the ground, her zanpakutou joining her afterwards.

"Thank you, assume your positions immediately, we leave in five"

"Hai, Aizen-sama"

Rukia didn't care of those two, they were weak, reaching for her sheathed zanpakutou she used Sode as a cane to stand up slowly, she was still sore after the battle.

"Rukia Kuchiki, welcome" the shinigami rose her head, spotting Aizen itself, the smug bastard was sitting on a throne, a throne! Overseeing a table where several Arrancars were seated, all of them of different powers, only three of them stand out of the bunch.

At Aizen's side were Tousen and Gin, the fox man looked as usual, the fox mocking smile on his lips while Tousen was stoic looking, as usual, you couldn't pry emotions of him even with a crowbar.

"Aizen" Rukia hissed, slowly standing up, noting that Nell was there, fresh out of battle, but two Espada were lacking, one was that blue one, Grimmjow, the other seat was right at the side of Harribel, the Espada who had slashed Ichigo from behind and got a full telekinetic blast to the face.

"I see you are lacking some Arrancars…I bet that blue haired one, Grimmjow was it? Must be dead" she noted how some of the Espada that were before Grimmjow's chair tensed up.

"And the blonde Arrancar…how's the face?" Harribel narrowed her eyes at Rukia, it was still a s ore subject to her, after all she attacked him and the only thing he needed to do was look at her, and she was flying away with a face full of hurt.

"Enough" Aizen spoke, his voice was soft, but the undertone was perceived by even Rukia, when he says stop you better stop.

"I am amazed that you have survived a fight against one of my Espada, quite a commendable feat, even for an unseated shinigami" Aizen began, "Then again, it was your power that awoke Kurosaki's own monstrous power" he added.

Rukia rose an eyebrow at that, "Maybe, but he took ALL my power, not a fraction like I wanted, but you already knew that, didn't you?" Aizen nodded.

"I admit that while he is of noble stock, we both know that being born out of nobles don't make you powerful, just look at you" Rukia rose an eyebrow.

"Arrived into the 78th sector with your sister, just two sectors away of the lowest area in Rukongai, abandoned as a baby, you grew to become member of the Kuchiki clan, then to become a shinigami strong enough to actually trigger the dormant power on a human whose power was dormant and would required the power of a lieutenant to awaken it" Aizen summarized.

"Then we have Ichigo, an average human, with a lingering spiritual power in him, as every single human born on Karakura"

"What? That's impossible! Karakura has only a dozen of spiritual sentient, not including Urahara and those in his shop and the Vizard!" Rukia snapped.

"If you truly believe that, then you are a naïve child just as the sotaichou, have you wondered what happened to the other spiritual rich plots in the world, besides Karakura Town?" Aizen asked, "I'll tell you, there had been no more spiritual rich plot lands, there has always been Karakura town, always has, always been, the oldest set of dirt predates Seireitei, the shinigami, the organization know as the Soul Reapers are predated by the land in which Karakura sits now, and do you know why?" Rukia slowly shook her head, it might be true, and it might not be true, but curiosity was a trait that shinigami, humans and hollows still share among each other.

"Because there, at least 5 millenniums ago, maybe seven millenniums, a great war was waged there, a battle of the which we will never seen, against opponents of the which only spoken in fairy tales, a war which aftermath is still felt in the ground of Karakura, and aftermath which gave birth to Soul Society and in turn to the shinigami, to Hueco Mundo and in turn to the hollows that exist today, to the Quincy as a whole, no one bothered to question how a clan of spiritual aware individuals came to be, even more how to gather reishi and fight to a level of seated shinigami" Aizen said there stood up, to Rukia he looked imposing, it was scary.

"The war greatest aftermath, however was that out of the many corpses, of the many beings that died there, something rose, blood condensed, flesh melted, thousand of consciences joined, the linchpin was born" Aizen said, slowly making his way down of his throne, making it to the table and slowly approaching Rukia.

"It sounds like a story to me" Rukia said.

"It is" Aizen riposted smoothly, "Crystalian in fact, Eurania told me so, a bedtime story she assures me, favored by her kind, a tale about a war in which the knights never participated because it did not endangered the safety of Crystalia, and hence not endangered the universe, but there, there they were wrong, this linchpin is in fact a danger, one I intent to remove" Aizen said, stopping not shy five meters of Rukia's effective killzone.

To Rukia this was something odd, Aizen was the good guy? Then it hit her, Aizen said he was going to remove the soul king, or queen in this case, to attain the throne above the heavens…

"You're not seeking Ichigo's mom" she gasped.

"Very astute, indeed, at first glance one would think I am aiming to kill Kurosaki Masaki and her entire family, the royal family" there an old man snorted angrily, Rukia glared at the old Arrancar who seemed to exuded petulance and arrogance.

"You would do well to hold your tongue Barragan, they are royalty, whenever you like it or not, besides Rukia here is the closest thing to a consort to Ichigo the Inferno" Aizen snapped curtly, Rukia obviously blushed, there had been talks and gossip about her true relation with Ichigo, not to mention that she was damn sure the elders of the clan were planning to marry her with the eldest of the royalty line.

Barragan seemed to growl, but remained quiet, which meant that Aizen was the most powerful person on the room, this made Rukia really uneasy.

"All this talk about a linchpin and Queen Masaki, and I still don't see the connection" Rukia snapped, "For what I can see the royal family is a smoke curtain to you, a cover to something bigger, this linchpin, what the hell is that thing anyway, even if it exists" Rukia stated.

"Indeed it does, the linchpin is as the rayearths, myths, but as we have seen, the myth of the Rayearth knights and their power is not so farfetched, a still developing Rayearth tore Seireitei down, nearly killed the sotaichou, destroyed the released form of the Sōkyoku, not to mention many more destructive acts during his stay, and that was only him, only undeveloped stage, tales tell of rayearths capable of call forth monstrous hurricanes capable of tearing a city out of its bases, of fires capable of burning the very fabric of reality, of tsunamis capable of covering continents or earthquakes that can swallow nations as a whole, as you could very well attest to, the myth is all but" Aizen smoothly replied.

Rukia obviously tensed up, she knew the legend, the myth, but obviously not the true capabilities of the knights, and she was not so looking forward seeing if Ichigo could actually burn the fabric of reality just for the kicks of it.

"As for the linchpin, you can say that the world has overgrown it" Aizen said, "For several millennia the linchpin has acted as a seal of sorts, a way to prevent the dimensions know as Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the living plane collide, are you aware of the matter/anti-matter theory? It was made by a human no less, fascinating piece of lecture" Aizen said, upon meeting silence he continued.

"Your silence says much, you do not know, well let me illustrate you, the theory states that there are two energies in the known universe, matter and anti-matter, both forces are opposing to one another, separated, existing in different planes of existence, where they should touch even for a second, even a slight millisecond, well let's say that it was nice living in this universe" Aizen joked, much to the horror of Rukia and a loli looking Espada seated near a bored looking grown up Espada.

"It was pretty much the same for us, where our three dimensions were to collide, chaos would be a small word to describe the apocalyptic clash that would ensure" Aizen stated, "That of course changed over…200 years ago If I'm not mistaken, with the birth of Isshin, the next in line to the 'throne' with his birth it came a realization, alongside the genocide of the Quincy" Aizen pressed on.

"The Quincy began actively hunting hollows fifteen years before the war against Soul Society, given that time, the amount of hollows slain; shinigami had to eradicate souls within Rukongai to counter the sudden damage to the balance, if my calculations were correct, a Quincy was able to slain at least fifty hollows per day, alone, the average one, a superior Quincy could kill over one hundred and fifty per day, now add this numbers, multiply them for over a thousand quincies working in tandem, for over fifteen years, nonstop" Rukia eyes were wide, she didn't need to do the math to see where Aizen was going.

"Correct, the balance had to break at the year ten, yet it didn't, which brought me to the next conclusion, at year fifteen, the sotaichou, who was happily ignoring the happenings of the human realm, and seeing the lowest casualty rate on shinigami ever, suddenly declares war against the Quincy, hence the genocide, doesn't strike you as odd that one moment he is happy and the next he is leading the shinigami into an all out slaughter of every men, women and children of the Quincy line?" Rukia wordlessly nodded, horrified by what Aizen was suggesting.

"Correct again" as if sensing her thoughts he congratulate her again for the horrible thought she had, they were pawns, all of them, even the Kurosakis were pawns.

"Someone once said that life finds the way, it is the same in here, the universe somehow was able to stabilize the existence of three different dimensions in one single world, the linchpin has long outgrew its usefulness" Aizen finalized.

"But then why? Why this? Why the war? Why that declaration back at the hill?" Rukia snapped.

"You really think Yamamoto will take the news of being used by a sentient object well? He will ignore it, the only one who truly knows what has been going on, besides me and Masaki Kurosaki is Fira, mainly because she is a Guardian and as old as the universe itself, maybe she didn't tell because she thought the linchpin was nothing worth of the concern of her Rayearth" Aizen said, now fully approaching Rukia and standing right in front of her.

"But now things are different, way different, you really think that the linchpin will let Ichigo live, or his family for that matter, doubtful, it will order the death of everyone related to Ichigo, you included, then erase the memory of the months past, it is but a single thing to do for the linchpin" Aizen said.

"So this is your plan, you won't go to the royal dimension…you will use Ichigo to destroy the linchpin!" Aizen smiled, like a father proud of his daughter.

"Indeed, but I know that even with the sword of Damocles hanging over his family and friends, Ichigo would turn against me, after all my plans remain unchanged, I will become a god, set the wrongs right, but to do that war must happen, a war that will drag Karakura and its residents, blood will be spilled there, death will be unavoidable, and The Inferno won't stand for this, he will come after me next, but I have already planned for this eventuality" Aizen said, walking away, and towards a door.

"By this moment Grimmjow must have already been taught his lesson, I told him specifically not to engage Ichigo, he wanted a fight, now he is getting more than he bargained for" an effeminate Espada giggled maliciously at this.

"Shut up Luppi, or you might follow" the so called Luppi shut his mouth quicker than Rukia expected someone would do.

"Now, a quick riddle, how do you truly defeat your sworn enemy, you destroy them down to the last man?" Aizen asked, "No, you do not, for there will always be a survivor, you do not destroy your enemy" Aizen said, calmly walking towards a door, and opening, revealing Ichigo, standing there, like a zombie, some sort of jewel embed on his forehead.

"You do not destroy, you control"

Rukia stood there, speechless.

* * *

With a grunt Ichigo slammed his fist on the face of the thing, the thing simply swayed around, like an overcooked noodle, then straighten itself up, ramrod and launched itself at Ichigo once more.

With a curse the Rayearth brought his fist again to the thing, hitting the masked face if the thing, the mask cracked.

"…_do…destroy…control"_

Ichigo blinked at that, that voice sounded oddly familiar to Aizen's own voice.

"The heUUMMMP" Ichigo exclaimed as the thing punched him on the stomach, sending him away and crashing on the none-existent ground, skidding around and then stopping himself on the get-go.

The mask of the thing was still broken; it was not repairing itself, meaning that this thing was not like a hollow, in fact most of the wounds Ichigo had inflicted on the chitinous like body of the thing weren't healing at all, it was with the punch and crack on the face/mask that Ichigo heard something more than his fist meeting the chitin material.

Whatever Ulquiorra had slammed in his head had send him here, and was now at the mercy of Aizen.

"_You…do…it's…how…you…know…will…cause…worlds…crash"_

"Rukia" Ichigo gasped, easily blocking the thing's fist, catching the arm and flipping the thing over his shoulder, slamming it to the ground, there Ichigo hit the beast face two times, making the crack on the mask wider.

Now the voices were more defined, but the static between was still ever present.

Maybe he didn't had his Rayearth powers or his zanpakutou, but he still had his skills; he was glad to have trained with Tatsuki and had kept those skills sharp, even before his mother died.

Now he had the means to defend himself, and if his hunch was right, a way to get out of this void.

All he had to do was keep pounding until the walls fell down!

* * *

No one noted how a single digit of the zombie like Ichigo twitched, it was an unperceivable, thing, it was not a hostile thing, so no one in the room saw it or felt it, so attuned they were to violence that an involuntary twitch would go unnoticed.

"What have you done to him?" Rukia asked, horrified by the possible ramifications of what had transpired so far, and was unveiling in front of her now.

"Control is the means for victory, control the battlefield, and you have the battle won, control the fight, and you'll already won, control your enemies, and you'll have none to defy you" Aizen stated.

"You can't do this! It's wrong! How do you know this will not cause the worlds to crash?" Rukia exclaimed, to be honest all this seemed to farfetched, a too well developed plan of Aizen, one she was critical in it.

"5,475,000" Aizen said.

"What?"

"That's the number of hollows the Quincy slain in a year, all of them superior, capable of taking entire divisions" Aizen said, "Now, add that number, plus 5475 days, 15 years, the number is…"

"29,975,625,000…non-purified hollows" Rukia whispered, horrified.

"That amount of souls is the same to the numbers on whole districts, on all four directions, to counter that, shinigami have to kill human souls, that amount of lost souls would be monstrous, people would have noticed, entire blocks empty of people, footsteps leading to the outskirts of the sectors, suddenly clustering together and stopping there, that amount of souls easily overpass the current number of humans who inhabit the world, 200 years before it was less, you can imagine the possible outcome"

"The end of it all" Rukia said.

"Yes, not with a bang, not with a well placed 'fuck you' to the heavens and hell, but with a whimper, and then silence"

Rukia remained rooted on her spot, the implications of all this was too much for her to bear, humanity, hollows and shinigami were _this_ close to extinction, no human souls coming in or out meant no shinigamis, which meant that the hollow population would grow out of control, at the same time the hollows, due to their cannibalistic nature would eat each other, no diversity on each side, given time just one hollow and one shinigami would remain, the last testament of humanity duality.

The realization of this horrible truth kept her quiet, Aizen kept a steady gaze on her; he looked both happy and sad.

"I see you saw the same I did, I was in your place, but unlike you, I had to deal with it alone, the truth…knowing it…it is brutal, it shapes you, changes you" Aizen said, "From that day onward I bowed I would end the cycle of the linchpin, I would forsake it all if needed, because as you see it, Seireitei needs to change, you were on the brunt of the harshest laws the linchpin has imposed using the king as a medium"

"You killed central 46 and took their place, send me to death row" Rukia snapped.

"They would have done the same, you did not communicated for over three months, gave your powers to a human and instead of taking them back, meaning killing the human, you aided him in doing your job, not to mention that you were supplied by a know exile and traitor at that moment…let's just say that my judgment was lenient compared to theirs, had they been in control instead of me, they would have ordered the shinigami there to kill you on the spot" Aizen added, Rukia felt a cold drop on her stomach at that implication, in some twisted way, Aizen had saved her.

She felt sick.

"…So…Ichigo is going to be your sword to cut down the linchpin, even if he doesn't want it…but what about me? What do you gain by basically shattering all I knew?" Rukia said.

"Rukia Kuchiki, you are to be my voice" Aizen said, "Do you actually believe someone will believe me?"

"You actually believe someone will believe ME what you just told me?" Rukia stated.

"True, but the evidence points to the right direction, to the only direction, truth its ugly and painful, no one wants to stare it, no one wants to bear it, and no one wants to handle it, but its absolute, and can't be denied, they will have to handle it because everything we have spoke, everything you have seen up to this point" he said, reaching towards Rukia, the petit shinigami eyes widened in utter fear, remembering that this man could easily kill her and leaver her into tiny little bits.

Her fears were not sated as Aizen reached for her robes and pulled the cell phone the R&D eggheads had given her, a prototype that would replace the current cell phones the shinigami used.

"Has already been heard by them" he said, holding the phone on one hand, Rukia could see on the display how one single, continuous call carried out without her knowing, but expecting it.

"They will try to stop Ichigo, you know it" Rukia hissed fearfully, not of Aizen, not of Ichigo or Soul Society, but of the aftermath if Aizen's current plan succeeded.

"They won't" Aizen said, "You see, I have been planning this for a long time, the chamber to the linchpin can only be opened by the queen, but there are ways to even lock her out of the chamber, and allow Ichigo free reign, even to transport him directly to the chamber, something unheard off, considering the nature of the _artifact_ within" Rukia noted the distaste of how Aizen referred to the linchpin.

"Eurania may be dead, and you still bear the emotional scars of your time as a host of the Nemesis" Rukia flinched at that, Rukia would not admit it, but he was right, Eurania was, for the lack of better words, brutal on the extraction of the Hōgyoku and the implantation of the Nemesis crystal soul on her, and she still has nightmares of the memories of the Nemesis, the creature deserved the title of the Dark Lord's general, the beast was nothing but brutal, ruthless and bloodthirsty.

"Yet she left several things upon her passing, things I took upon myself to improve" he said, "The Hōgyoku is not a tool for merely creating Arrancars and vizards like if it was nothing, as long you have the will, the Hōgyoku can make it happen" he said, moving forward Ichigo, taking his hand and placing something in it.

"Now listen Ichigo, once you're in the chamber, place this object in the door, then seek the linchpin, kill it, destroy it, leave nothing behind" Aizen commanded, Ichigo nodded dumbly.

"That's all I ask" he added, motioning the pink haired Arrancar to him, "Szayel, guide our lance to the door, be kind to remove that bothersome jewel-bomb in him and provide him with his zanpakutou, then prepare our transport" the pink haired Espada nodded, clearly excited by this, guiding the zombie like Ichigo by the hand, like a child, "Oh and while you're at it, tell the nurse to pick Grimmjow…or what might be left of him" Aizen said with a smirk, one that Szayel mimicked.

"Go? Go where?" Rukia asked.

"It won't hurt to tell you, my goal still remains, create the Ōken, make it to the royal dimension, and sit upon the throne above heavens"

"You could use the same method which you will send Ichigo to the linchpin" Rukia countered.

"True, but I can't, Ichigo, by all intents and purposes, regardless of his current status as a human with shinigami power who is part hollow, is a crystalian, not by birth, but by duty, the glove on his hand makes him a crystalian, the method I will use to send him to the chamber of the linchpin only will work on a crystalian, sadly I am not a crystalian, the process would tear me apart, beating the purpose of seating on a throne and orchestrating a war" Aizen smoothly said.

"Nevertheless there are other ways to make the Ōken, but to do that I need energy, energy the Hōgyoku doesn't have, for you see, in the creation of the gem that controls Ichigo, the apparatus that will send him to the chamber and the lock for the room, the Hōgyoku has drained itself, unfortunately I cannot find a suitable source of power here, considering I spend 100 years feeding mine, and Urahara spend more time working on his, I fused them both, but it was still lacking power, if I want to reach the throne, I need a bigger source of power, fast, and there is only one place that can provide it"

Rukia simply shook her head; she knew everyone on the other line didn't want to either, "C-c-cry…"

"Crystalia" Aizen said smoothly, suddenly taking Rukia by the shoulder and guiding her away of the chamber.

"For you Rukia I have something special" Aizen said, slowly taking Rukia away.

"I will give you a one way ticket to Seireitei, right where they are waiting for me in case Ichigo's plan had succeeded, I admit his plan was with flaws, but the flaws were overshadowed by the single fact it was something I wouldn't expect, he should had give it some extra thought, to prepare if I was ready for him" Aizen said, reaching a room, there he seemed to reach the air, and tear open the very fabric of the veil, opening a hole directly to Seireitei, right on top of a conglomeration of shinigami of all ranks.

All looking at him and Rukia, all hearing.

"I know your potential Rukia Kuchiki, Ichigo's own power is proof of it, if he can reach it, so can you, I know, sooner or later, our paths will cross again, alongside with Ichigo's own and his allies, till then, grow strong" he said, he seemed ready to push her to the hole with ease, then stopped and leaned close to her ear.

"By the way" he whispered, to Rukia it felt like the devil whispering forbidden temptations, "How Kaien behaved when MY hollow corrupted him?"

It was like a switch for Rukia, with a feral cry she turned to Aizen, ready to cut him down, then the next thing she knows is that her chest erupted in blood, and Aizen seemed to grow farther and farther, until she saw the blue sky and her back met the unforgiving ground, hard.

Aizen simply closed the garganta, exposing a black sun on a perfect blue sky.

* * *

The zombified Ichigo placed a single metal disk in the bronze door, a black energy of some sort making a thick door to never budge, no matter what hit it from both ends.

The zombie that was Ichigo kept walking, making his way towards a set of stairs, there he found his first resistance, a thick wall of pure reiatsu, and anyone who would cross it would surely die, crushed by the sheer pressure.

Ichigo's body simply rose his left arm, and waved, like brushing a fly away, the walls around him turned into dust and were grinded to a molecular level, the wall was reduced away.

The first and only defense for the linchpin was reduced to nothing with a brush of the hand of the unhinged Rayearth, without a mind to control it, Ichigo's power was unbound, he in all sense, could burn the world with a snap of his fingers, for his mind and soul knew control, knew restrain, his body didn't, without mind and soul, the body was free to do what its pleases.

The body kept advancing, moving onward, passing the stairs, reaching what seemed a platform of some sort; there it made it, far beyond where Masaki and Yoruichi had ever made it.

The linchpin was in sight, it was a single bronze orb of the size of a human fist, floating in the void.

**YOU HAVE COME**

Ichigo remained silent.

**LIKE A CHILD COMES LOOKING FOR SHELTER IN A FAMILIAR PRESENCE, YOU, RAYEARTH OF FIRE, KNIGHT OF WAR, COMES SEEKING ME, A REMINDED OF A WAR FAR LONG GONE**

Ichigo's bland stare remained.

**DON'T ACT AS IF YOU CAN'T LISTEN TO ME, YOUR BODY IS LED, BUT YOUR MIND IS THERE**

The crystal in Ichigo's forehead broke, and the empty gaze of Ichigo was replaced by anger, "Genocide…you got a lot to answer…you knew"

**OF COURSE, WHAT AIZEN SPOKE IS THE TRUTH, PAINFUL AS IT IS, I HAVE DONE WHAT HAD TO BE DONE**

"For what purpose, you reduced the Quincy to nomads, you have started wars just to suit your needs, who are you to decide our lives? Who are you!"

**I AM POWER, I AM CONTROL, I AM THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING**

"Everything? Everything what?"

**CHAOS, DISORDER, ANARCHY**

"Chaos? What kind of chaos, in case you haven't noticed, we are currently at war!"

**I HAVE, AND THAT'S MY ANSWER, THE CHAOS OF WAR**

"What?"

**I AM A BEING BORN OUT OF WAR, MY MIND COMES WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF WAR ITSELF, I KNOW THE PAIN OF WAR, THE GLORY OF WAR, I KNOW WAR IN ITS PUREST FORM, I UNDERSTAND IT BETTER, SO I KNOW THE HORRIBLE OUTCOME, WITHOUT CONTROL, WAR WILL CONSUME US ALL.**

"What are you talking about? You spout nonsense about control over war and yet we are at war, against Aizen, against hollows, against each other!" Ichigo exclaimed, "So far all you have done is pissing me off for causing the Quincy genocide, I heard all Aizen said, he is a bastard yes, but so far he has been straightforward enough to tell you when he is going to kill you and how, one thing is deceiving on the field, other is outright lie, and let me tell you, Aizen wasn't lying" Ichigo snarled, he hated to admit it, but he was right, Aizen was right, he wasn't lying, he was sure, he simply could feel it.

**YOU UNDERSTAND LITTLE, AND I EXPECT NO LESS, I HAVE BEEN KEEPING PEACE FOR AS LONG AS YOU IMAGINE!**

The next thing Ichigo knows is that the orb actually ignited itself, lighting the hall with an unholy bronze flame.

**DO NOT THINK YOU CAN ACTUALLY WIN, I AM NEEDED, CHAOS WON'T REING!**

Ichigo stared at the linchpin, looking at the flaming orb with something akin to pity, he stared at the thing, maybe Fira wasn't now with him, Zangetsu and his hollow were with him, both feeling the same for the orb.

Pity.

Pity for it never went beyond its allotted duty, even shinigami knew that being stuck on the same routine for too much time would drive them mad, and with their long lifespan, it was most assured that monotony would derail to madness.

Ichigo simply looked at the orb, then at the room, a little anticlimactic he admits, his last day in this world before he actually goes to Crystalia to do whatever he does, he said goodbye to his family, he somewhat did the same with his friends, he knew Karakura Town was in good hands, even if those hands were the one of Yamamoto.

His only regret was not saying goodbye to Rukia.

Summoning Ignis, Ichigo began to advance, several bronze like fire arrows began to fly at him, impacting him fully, yet he didn't relented, he pulled Zangetsu out, letting both blades scrape the ground.

"_**You know king, this isn't the way I envisioned how the war would end"**_

"_This is not over, you know it"_

"_Ichigo is right, this is only the beginning"_

"_**Well then…how about we officially start this war…WITH STYLE!"**_

"Yeah" Ichigo hissed, reiatsu pouring off him, enveloping his swords, his eyes taking a blue cobalt tint.

"Ban"

Ichigo jumped his hollow grinding as a maniac as Ichigo summoned his hollow mask, Zangetsu ever present behind Ichigo, his companions, his partners.

His friends.

"Kai!"

The room was enveloped in a bright light as Ichigo charged against the linchpin, then it was over, the massive room was melted beyond recognition, and the linchpin now lay broken, split in two, destroyed.

The world didn't end that day.

* * *

**_and there it is, the last chapter of ichigo the inferno, to those who have made it to this point, first of all, I wanted to make the reason as of why Aizen became who he is, after all you just don't wake up in the morning and decide to screw everyone in the brain while planning to overthrow the king and take over the universe, in this I gave Aizen somesort of past, a past that is hinted in hislast moments before he is sealed by Urahara, he hates the linchpin, he says it himself, so using that I gave a reason as of why Aizen wanted to do what he wanted to do._**

**_Don't get me wrong, some might say I made Aizen as the good guy, the truth is he isn't, he admits it, he will get what he wants, even if he has to burn the world to get it._**

**_so there it is, the last chapter before the epilogue, which i will upload now, so read and review._**


	15. Epilogue

_**here it is, the very last part of ichigo the inferno, it will reveal the next character in line, and what will happen from now on, so read, for the trailer of the next story will come with this.**_

* * *

**EPILOGUE:**

"Ugh, I hate my life"

"You do?"

Wilma Vandom eyes opened wide as she stood up, rather hasty, she felt light-headed after that, nearly collapsing to her feet, figments of a battle she and her friends lost coming and going like sand in her hands.

"Hey easy there" she was suddenly caught by someone, she didn't knew who this one was, and when she looked, she got eye wide.

The boy was surely of her age, but taller than Matt or Caleb, that was for certain, clad in black baggy robes, his hair was spiky, and oddly enough dark orange, his eyes were brown, like hers, and his face showed some sort of scowl, mixed with surprise, worry and anxiety.

When she was able to stand on her own, she noted the rest of his attire, sandals on his feet, a strange red metallic belt tied to his torso, over his shoulder, apparently the binds for what seemed a massive…sword of some sort, on his back, and a white fingerless glove on his left hand, with a crystal motive of a flaming skull in red.

And here she thought she had seen it all.

"Who…are you?" she said, sore all over her body, talking was painful, but not as painful when Elyon had smashed that energy bolt to her torso, she was sore, tender and apparently lost in company of a handsome guy dressed in a very outdated clothes and armed with a big ass sword.

She would rub this fact to Cornelia, and then she would beat the crap out of Phobos for screwing with Elyon's mind, and not particularly in that order.

"Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki, you?"

Will noted that the name was oriental, probably Japanese, although he sure as hell didn't look the part of an average Japanese, surely they didn't grow this tall, or have orange hair, the clothes might explain something.

"Will…Will Vandom" Will said, slowly rubbing her head, trying to quell the pain she felt…everywhere.

She could easily see Ichigo walk past her, looking around, Will narrowed her eyes, seeing that somehow, she and Ichigo had ended in some sort of mountain, or the top, or a slope, or something, in any case she had one helluva view of the forest below, Meridian didn't compare to this.

Under Phobos rule it would never do.

"So…this is Crystalia" Ichigo spoke, making Will look at him oddly.

"Crywhatnow?" she asked.

"The core world…I'm here…now what?"

As if answering his question, something rattled the forest below, followed by, what Will and Ichigo can safely describe as a thunderstorm happening in the middle of the forest, ground level, then out of the blue several pieces of the forest itself seemed to shift apart, going upwards, like pikes of ground itself forced by something.

Not far, the copes of the trees nearby were frozen solid.

"That is…convenient" Ichigo hissed, reaching for his blade, Will eyes widened as she saw the blade itself, it was something a butcher would use, but to a comical level, and Ichigo was hoisting it easily.

Then his left hand was enveloped in fire sparks and light, and another cleaver, red this time, with freaking saw blades over the length appeared on his hand.

Will followed Ichigo as he made it to the edge of the slope.

"You don't need to come if you don't want to" Ichigo mentioned.

Will wanted to say something, but the sound of gunfire emanated out of the forest, along with the sounds of screams and blades crashing on one another, the thunderstorm and ice began to become more prevalent, and some sort of lightshow began to happen below.

"…What kind of guardian of the veil would I be if I just walked away, leaving defenseless people behind" she said, clasping something tied to her neck, Ichigo noted a pink glow emanating from her clasped hand.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Will smirked at that.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!"

Two blurs suddenly fell out of the slopes, one glowing pink, then becoming a green blur, reaching the forest bellow.

The forest was light by fire.

* * *

_**and there it is, the epilogue, now get ready for the trailer...**_

* * *

_**All that has happened so far...**_

she kept on running, dodgin stray shots of something, jumping over a box that suddenly exploited...

**_all she has suffered, all she has endured..._**

gripping a pink baton, she suddenly rammed it to a wall, breaking such wall, making a dust wall and obstacle along the way.

_**her greatest test will not be the cards...**_

getting out of the streets, she made her way towards a park, it was empty, stopping there and takign a deep breath, she knew it was behind her.

**_Her will, everyhting she knows will be tested..._**

turning around she spotted her chaser, taking one last deep breath she turned around, gripped her pink baton and charged...

_**This is Sakura...**_

with a cry she jumped, her baton glemaing on the sun, on her left hand a glove...

_**This is her story...**_

"The sword!"

**_Sakura the Pillar..._**

**_The end is just the beggining..._**

**_of what, no one will ever know..._**

* * *

**_there it is, the trailer, I hope you enjoy it, until a next time, this is hypn0s! see you around guys._**


	16. Authors note

_**Hello guys, been a while huh? This is perhaps, my very first authors note, yay, note the sarcasm.**_

_**But this is not a bad authors note, not at all God forbid, not a notice to say I have cancelled my Rayearth stories, I would flail myself alive and then you guys would pick at what's left at me, I have dedicated too much time for the story to just let it die.**_

_**No, this note is to let those both old and new readers of my stories, all three of my complete one, that the fourth story, Sakura the Pillar has finally surfaced, of course on the Card Captor Sakura anime section.**_

_**I do this to let people know about it, there are a lot of people who keep reading my Rayearth stories, and want more, well Sakura the Pillar is that more.**_

_**Then so, read, review and any flames on my stories shall be used to keep myself warm on these cold days in my natal city, peace!**_


End file.
